by Unknown
Dahlia's eyes went straight to Rowan's and a strange look passed between them before she smiled and transferred her gaze to Rue. He was grinning too, stroking the baby's face like she was a miracle. I think he was right. She was a miracle, the second one in the Faerie Realm within a week. I wondered if that was a coincidence. Perhaps the fey were finally reaping the benefits of their hard work and soon there would be more children born. I looked over at Arach and smiled.
More miracles.
Chapter Sixteen
“Those baby pouches were well received by both Lorna and Dahlia.” Arach slid onto our bed and laid back against the pillows to watch me prepare to return to the God Realm.
“They're called slings and you sound surprised,” I shot a look at him through the mirror on the dresser.
“They seemed like such simple things,” he shrugged. “Just a length of fabric sewn together.”
“Yes but that fabric has been sewn together in a very helpful way,” I slid my wedding rings off and laid them in the jewelry box Arach had given me.
It was carved from a solid ruby, with a lid that lifted off the top like a candy dish. The inside was lined in bright orange silk, with compartments for different pieces of jewelry. Arach had commissioned our new pixies to make it. They were masters at working with jewels and the jewelry box was a prime example.
“Do you really think you can find Liatris in the Human Realm?” He changed the subject deftly. I think he was wary of any conversation that could lead to children now that I'd decided to have one with him.
“Honestly,” I grimaced, “without a place to start, it doesn't look good. All I can do is keep an eye out for strange headlines in the news. I have no idea where Lia would run off to.”
“So you were just trying to be comforting when you told King Rowan that everything would be fine,” he cocked his head at me.
“It's what you say in situations like this,” I put my emerald necklace on. “People need to hear it, even if it may not be true.”
“So you lied,” he seemed to consider it.
“No,” I frowned and turned to face him. “I hopefully told the truth but the result is uncertain at the moment. I do believe that Liatris will return eventually. She's fey and I don't think she understands the kind of a pull the Faerie Realm will have for her.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “I think you're right. She'll return at some point. It's just impossible to determine when that will be.”
“Exactly,” I sighed and looked down at my Ring of Remembrance. “Do you think my ring could take me into the future?”
“What?” Arach sat up straight. “Why would you ask that?”
“It was just a thought that occurred to me,” I shrugged.
“I don't know,” he settled back onto the pillows, “but my instincts tell me it could be dangerous, more so than traveling to the past.”
“Why?” I frowned.
“Without having experienced it already, you wouldn't know where you'd be in the future. You could find yourself in all kinds of situations,” he squinted as he considered. “I assume you'd be pulled into your future self but I don't know if you'd automatically receive the knowledge of that future self.”
“So I could be thrust into a situation without the information on how to deal with it?” I hadn't considered that.
“Exactly,” he nodded. “And you could affect things badly if those around you suspected that something was wrong with you.”
“No kidding,” I huffed. “They might think I was possessed again.”
“And try to exorcise you,” Arach made a grim face.
“Right, so probably best to not travel to the future,” I laughed as I put my gold ring back on, the one that linked me to my other men.
As soon as I did, a horrible feeling washed over me and I fell to my knees, screaming. Fear paralyzed my limbs as an icy slush seemed to fill them. I vaguely heard Arach's shout and felt his hands on my arms as he steadied me. I couldn't reassure him though, my attention was firmly on the images my ring was showing me.
The men hadn't returned from vanara territory. They must have been caught because they were trapped somewhere within the monkey palace. I could feel their anxiety... including Azrael's. Damn, Azrael's ring must have alerted him to Trevor, Kirill, and Odin's distress and because I hadn't returned from Faerie yet, he'd gone to rescue them on his own. I blinked as I realized that I was feeling the effects of a future that wouldn't happen if I returned to the past and changed it.
A shiver of dread washed through me. Trevor couldn't go more than a month without touching me and connecting with the piece of his soul that I held. We were bonded through a Froekn ritual but only halfway. He didn't possess a part of my soul. So if we were apart too long, he'd suffer for it. Suffer and eventually die. I would suffer too, I'd feel his death, but I'd live through it. If you could call existence without Trevor a life.
I'd thought I could stay in Faerie as long as I wished, without Trevor suffering the consequences of my extended absence, but I'd been wrong. Trevor would suffer but it would all be wiped away upon my return to the God Realm. I'd essentially rewrite history. As much as I knew he'd never remember his trauma, I didn't want him to go through it. Plus, what happened if it went on long enough for him to die? Would I be able to return to the past there and undo his death? One of the rules regarding the Ring of Remembrance was that you couldn't undo death but did that apply if I wasn't there to live through it? It wasn't a chance I was willing to take. Which meant that my pregnancy, were I to get pregnant, would be much more difficult than I'd thought.
But that was a concern for another time. Right then, I had to get back to the Human Realm so I could stop Azrael from trying to save the others single-handedly, and then try and figure out a way to save my imprisoned men. At least the ring was able to show me exactly where vanara territory was but there was still the issue of getting past their wards. How the hell had Azrael done it?
Damn angels, they think they're god's gift to... oh whatever. Azrael did have a bit of an ego though. Honestly, he deserved it, he was pretty bad ass, but there's always someone bigger and stronger out there. Or, a lot of weaker opponents who can simply overwhelm you with the power of numbers. Which was probably how he got taken down. Even the Angel of Death could be conquered with enough opponents attacking him. I shook off that imagery and the terror the ring was filling me with as I stumbled to my feet.
“It's the others,” I finally said to Arach. “They've been captured by weremonkeys.”
“Do you need help?” He shocked me by immediately asking.
“I...” I blinked. “I'm not sure but thank you for offering. I need to go back and meet with the other gods. If I do need you, I'll mirror... in which case, we may lose some time together. So don't be upset if I fail to return immediately.”
“Alright,” he said grimly. “Do what you need to do to get them back. I'll try not to worry too much.”
“I love you,” I whispered as I slid into his arms and gave him a goodbye kiss.
“I love you too,” his words echoed as they followed me through time, back to when I'd left the God Realm.
As soon as I reappeared in my bedroom in Pride Palace, the horrible sensations emanating from my ring stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that whatever was happening with my men at the moment, it wasn't bad enough to alert me. Which meant Azrael wouldn't be alerted either and perhaps we'd be able to use this time for some kind of advantage.
Almost as if I summoned him, Az came striding through the door. His wings were showing but were closed in tight against his body so he could navigate the narrow hallway and doorway. He was still shirtless, which had me blinking a little but then I guess his job wasn't all that big on a dress code. I'm sure there were a few souls who appreciated the sight of Azrael's amazing chest as he leaned over to collect them. I know I wouldn't be opposed to that being the last thing I saw before I got taken to my afterlife. In fact, I'd probably think I'd already arrived
in Heaven.
“Azrael!” I snapped myself out of it. “The boys are in trouble.”
“Which boys?” he frowned and came over to me.
“Kirill, Trevor, and Odin,” I said quickly, frowning over the fact that I'd just called my lovers; boys. None of them had been a boy for quite awhile. “Your ring hasn't told you yet but mine alerted me in Faerie. They're going to be imprisoned by those vanara.”
“Then we'd better go get them,” he took my hand and started to lead me towards the door.
“Seriously?” I pulled back on his hand and stopped him. “This is why you got in trouble. You can't just jump into any fight and expect to come out victorious. Or don't you remember the sirens?”
“That was a fluke,” he frowned, “and what do you mean, that's why I got in trouble?”
“The ring alerted me to your situation too,” I sighed. “You must have gone to rescue them and got captured as well.”
“I did?” His face fell. “These must be some tough monkeys.”
“Yeah, they don't monkey around,” I held my serious expression for two seconds before chuckling.
“Really? You're making jokes?” He chastised but there was a smile lurking around his lips.
“Sorry, you're right,” I sighed and got serious as I remembered the time Azrael had rescued me from the Seventh Heaven. The other angels had run from him. Even Jerry had looked a little intimidated(Jerry as in Jehovah, the Christian god). So it really was a big deal that Az got overtaken. Of course, he wasn't alone at the time either, all the demons of Hell had been at his back. Including his father, Lucifer.
“So what should we do?” Azrael asked.
“The same thing I always do when I get into deep dookie,” I grimaced.
“Call the God Squad,” he answered for me.
“Well I sure ain't gonna call Ghostbusters.”
Chapter Seventeen
“How would you have got past their wards?” I asked Azrael as the rest of the God Squad arrived and settled into seats in our dining hall.
“I would have asked Torrent to help me,” he shrugged like the answer was obvious.
“Oh,” I glanced over at Torr, where he sat beside his girlfriend Artemis. “I totally forgot that Torrent can do that.”
“The unmaker of magic,” Azrael whispered dramatically. “It's a good power to have.”
“And a scary one,” I smiled at Torr and he smiled brightly back as he flipped a hunk of platinum blonde hair out of his boyish face.
“There is that,” Azrael agreed.
“Almost as scary as being able to kill someone in their dreams,” Morpheus smirked.
Morph had been staying at Pride Palace for awhile after the debacle with his family but he'd finally decided to move back to his cave in the Greek Underworld. His brothers had fled anyway and Hades had made it clear that they were unwelcome in his territory. This left the Land of Dreams completely uninhabited. At least by gods.
So Morpheus had gone home, intent on being a better dream god and guarding the Gate of Horn, which allowed gods to pass into the Realm of Dreams. Faeries could do it without a gate since they'd made the realm initially but not gods. Even if a god were to enter the realm through the Gates of Horn, he wouldn't be able to manipulate dreams unless he was a dream god like Morpheus. So the gates were actually pretty safe on their own. Except for the fact that Morph's brothers were still out there and if they somehow managed to sneak into the Greek Underworld, they could wreck a lot of havoc in the dreams of humans.
Morpheus considered himself a part of the God Squad now and so even though he wasn't living with us anymore, he was there to help and I was grateful to have him with us instead of against us. Because just like he said, the power to kill someone in their dreams was pretty impressive. Though personally, I thought being able to unmake magic was a little more scary.
I smiled at Morph but before I could say anything, Thor walked in with Epona. Epona was a Celtic goddess of horses and in my opinion, she kind of resembled one but maybe I was just bitter because she'd been the first goddess Thor had seriously dated after we broke up. She was the goddess who had created the horse-shifters and was Rhiannon's mother. She was also really, really pissed off and as usual, her anger was directed at me.
“What did you do?” She snarled at me as she came into the room.
I blinked in shock and looked over to Thor for help.
“I'm sorry,” he shook his head. “She made me bring her.”
“You've endangered my daughter, Godhunter,” Epona tossed out the accusation as she came striding right for me.
“I would seriously reconsider approaching my lover like that,” Azrael stood up and maneuvered himself in between Epona and I. His wings rushed open so I couldn't see what happened next but Epona's footsteps faltered and then stopped entirely.
“It's okay, Az,” I got up and brushed a hand down one of his long, black, primary feathers. He lowered his wings so I could see Epona's wide eyes and frightened expression. “Rain, Adriano, and Ilario came to us for help. Trevor, Kirill, and Odin, along with some of my Intare, gave them that help and now they're paying for it. I fail to see how it's all my fault.”
“Because you hid here while they went in alone,” Epona found some of her original anger.
“They insisted I remain behind,” I growled, “and it's a good thing I did or we wouldn't even know they were in trouble.”
“Oh yes, we would have,” Epona snarled. “The vanara think I sent the men in to rescue Rhiannon. They were led by my horses after all. So they called to taunt me about how they brought them down with blow darts laced with Net.”
“Net,” I whispered. “How did they get Net?”
Net was a god drug. It was made from poppies grown in the Greek Underworld and it robbed a god of all their magic while it simultaneously made them not only apathetic about the heist but happy. No wonder my ring hadn't alerted me yet. They were probably still sleeping off the affects. Net was the only drug that could be used against a god, it was also the reason Morph's family had been kicked out of the Greek Underworld, they'd been the ones making it. After they'd been cast out, Hades had burned the poppy fields to ash.
“It hasn't been that long,” Morpheus said grimly. “There are probably gods hoarding reserves of Net.”
“Or selling it to the highest bidder,” Azrael grimaced and then whispered to me, “Net could have brought me down.”
“Have all of you forgotten that I'm one of the three most powerful Hindu gods?” Brahma's voice trailed over to us with utter nonchalance.
We all went quiet and transferred our gazes to him.
“One of the top three, eh?” Torrent asked into the silence. “That's pretty impressive. Let me see,” his vibrant green eyes went distant as he accessed knowledge through the Internet, aka the Inter Realm, which he was a part of. “The other two are Vishnu and Shiva.”
“Yes but I'm the best,” Brahma sniffed.
“Well my information says that Shiva is pretty popular,” Torr's breath left him with a whoosh as Artie elbowed him. “I mean, yes, obviously you're the best.”
“Thank you,” Brahma gave that sideways Indian head nod. It was the first time I'd ever seen him with an Indian mannerism and it kind of threw me.
“Can you get my daughter back?” Epona leaned across the table towards Brahma.
“What about your horse-shifters?” I gaped at her. “Don't you care about them?”
“One of them is my ex-husband who is now sleeping with my daughter,” Epona shot at me. “So no, I'm not really concerned about them.”
“Bitter much?” I chuckled.
“I believe you have something in common with Constantin,” she smirked. “Just in reverse. You slept with the son before you slept with his father.”
Thor blanched and the room went still again.
“Technically, I slept with Odin first, it was just in another life.” I shrugged, intent on rising above Epona's taunts. “Thor didn't know he w
as sleeping with his father's wife since I was in a new body and I had no knowledge of the past. After I remembered, it was difficult to stay away from my husband. What's Rhiannon's excuse?”
“How dare you!” Epona screeched.
“Epona,” Thor shook his head. “Alienating Vervain isn't going to help you. Why don't we just try and be civil to each other?”
Epona looked like she'd swallowed something bitter but she finally nodded and we all took our seats like calm, rational people. I said like, not that we actually were. That would be too much to ask of Epona. Alright, that was unnecessarily mean, I apologize.
“Now that we're being civil,” Brahma laughed. “Would you like to hear about my relationship with the vanara?”
“You have a relationship with them?” I gaped at him.
“Of course,” he huffed.
“The myths say he created them,” Torrent added.
“But is it true?” Horus looked skeptically at Brahma.
Hekate, Horus' girlfriend, lifted a black brow over one heavily lined eye as she peered over to Brahma as well. She was dressed in her usual Goth attire, her purple hair curling over her shoulders in wild disarray, and her lip ring glinting silver against her blood red lips. Sitting beside the sleekly tailored Horus should have made her look ridiculous but instead, she simply looked intimidating. She didn't need to say a word to convey her skepticism but Brahma wasn't easily intimidated.
“Not precisely,” he grinned. “Not at all, actually. I did help them a lot when they were first starting out but then Hanuman came into power and took over their leadership. He became too cocky. Well, too powerful actually. I made him forget about his magic so he wouldn't misuse it and when he remembered, he was a little peeved with me.”