He swung the machete with both hands, but he was off balance and missed.
I didn’t. I yanked the knives from my wings with both hands and plunged them into his eyes.
The effect was instant. Gacy’s face froze into a painted grimace as his soul poured from his eyes in liquidy black smoke over the Las Vegas desert.
Just as the moon eclipsed the sun, the clown suit evaporated into dust.
We had five minutes to catch our ride.
Chapter 57
Archer got busy cutting the ties from the women and removing their blindfolds. He spent some time calming them down and assuring them that they were out of harm’s way. I watched for a moment as he ushered them to the car, lifting the bag containing Indigo out of the backseat.
I gathered Rumour and Alex.
“We need to hurry,” I said. I explained about the plan for Thor and Zeus to crack the sky and carry us home. “But we must be at the coordinates specified.”
Alex and Rumour shrugged out of their dresses and kicked them aside.
“Let’s go,” I said.
Then I heard a car start up.
I spun around to see Archer trotting back to us, Indigo and the canvas bag in his hand. “I thought you might need your sword.”
I clutched my hands to my head. “No!”
He stopped short. “What?”
Then he heard the tires squeal. Archer turned to meet the dust with his face as the car made a doughnut formation and sped off toward the horizon.
I tried to run after the car, thought about flying after it, but my power was draining. I didn’t know how much I needed to get home.
“We need to get to our coordinates, Archer!” I yelled.
“Shit! I told them to wait! They said they wanted the air conditioner on!” He dropped the bag and chased the car, but it was too late.
They were gone.
Alex walked over to him and punched him in the gut.
Archer doubled over. “Ow! Jesus Christ, why are you two so violent?”
Rumour said, “Because they’re shape-shifters. They were actually raised by wolves. Tisi is the pack leader.”
Archer looked at me, stunned.
I rolled my eyes. “That is not true. Knock it off, Rumour.”
She grinned wickedly.
Alex said, “We can take his car.” She pointed to the other car in the desert.
“The stink-mobile? No freaking way,” said Rumour.
“I’m really sorry, ladies,” Archer said.
“Shut up, mortal,” Alex said.
“Yeah, shut up,” said Rumour.
“All of you shut up! I need to think,” I said.
The moon was slowly sliding away from the sun.
Archer was unzipping his bag. He glanced at his watch. “Three minutes.”
I looked at the moonstone ring. This was supposed to be a tracking device. Athena had given it to me as such, before Hecate had enchanted it to receive messages. Maybe, just maybe, they would come to us.
“Everyone gather round. Alex, I’ll need you to lock hands with me and expand your wings, and I’ll do the same. Rumour and Archer can stand in the center.”
“Don’t order me around,” my sister said.
“Just do it, Alex, or I’ll leave you here to mortalize.”
She rolled her eyes.
I turned to Hades’s hound just as a violent bolt of lightning cracked the sky, followed by thunder that shook the ground. Thor and Zeus were close. I could feel it.
“Cerberus. Can you find your way home? Or do you want to come with us?”
The hound backed up a bit and sat down.
“Very well.”
Archer stood up, holding the three orange sticks. He handed me Indigo, I snapped, and the small dragon opened her eyes.
“We’re going home,” I told her. She blinked and cooed.
Archer said. “These may work. They flame up and shoot into the sky. Lost travelers use them all the time here.”
I nodded. “Great. Fire them off.”
I watched as Archer sent the flares off into the darkened desert sky, feeling just a little sad. Would I ever see him again? There were laws in place to prevent the gods from mingling too often with mortals. I broke them harmlessly at times. But playing poker wasn’t considered a serious offense. Interworld dating was. It had caused us nothing but trouble in the past, so the Fates had decided it was best to outlaw it altogether.
Archer jogged back to me. He smiled and embraced me. “You did it, Sassy.”
“We did it, Lawman.” I kissed him. Alex cleared her throat and glared at me. “Can you give us the game play, Coach?”
I sighed. She could be so rude. “All right, everyone. At the next lightning bolt, we all lock hands and focus on home.”
Archer and Rumour stood centered.
My sister and I expanded our wings and clasped hands around them.
The light of the sun was nearly at full force.
I heard Thor’s thunder boom first. I scanned the sky.
Rumour pointed. “There!”
I opened the ring and fired it at Zeus’s lightning bolt.
The beam from my ring curled around the electric bolt, forming a connection from the ground to the sky.
The sky tore open, and the hands of the gods reached down and collected us.
Chapter 58
I hadn’t seen Archer in two weeks, but today was the day, and I was giddy as a woodland nymph. Today was the hearing on our case. The Fates had been studying everything that had transpired, and they were to rule on Charon’s involvement in Lamia’s and Gacy’s escape, how Archer and I had handled the mission, and my proposal for better communication between the realms.
I was brushing my hair when I noticed Megaera behind me.
“Meg. What are you doing here?”
She eyed me suspiciously. “The question is, what are you doing?”
I was about to apply lipstick. I stopped and narrowed my eyes at her through the mirror. “I don’t know what you mean.”
I grabbed a blouse that was hanging from the shower rack.
“I think you do,” Meg said, a twang in her tone.
Alex popped in then. “I think she’s in love with him.” She crossed her arms.
I glared at her as I buttoned my shirt.
“Are you wearing perfume, Tisi?” Alex asked, sniffing the air.
I brushed her aside to get to my sink where the lotion sat. I dabbed it on my hands and elbows.
“And lipstick,” Meg said in a little girl’s voice.
Alex puckered her lips in the mirror. “Oh, Archer, kiss me like you mean it.” She pretended to swoon.
“I saved your ass, and this is the thanks I get?” I said to my little sister.
Alex rolled her eyes. “Please. If it wasn’t for me reserving my strength and building my power by channeling home, we would all be dead.”
I felt my fury flutter, but I wouldn’t let them get to me. Not today of all days.
“And if it wasn’t for the two of you pretending to be mortals with the minds of lost sheep, none of us would have been in that mess to begin with,” I said.
“Hey, I didn’t get abducted,” Meg said.
“No, but you were foolish enough to drink that juice,” I said to my older sister. “And really, Meg? Clyde?”
Steam whistled from Megaera’s ears. “I told you—that was a rumor you-know-who started.”
I sighed. “This bathroom is not big enough for the three of us.” I turned and walked out, leaving my sisters in the dark.
They followed me out.
“Don’t be so serious, Tisiphone. We’re only teasing you because we’re happy for you,” Meg said.
“That’s right. It’s about time you got some action. It’ll dry up if you don’t use it,” Alex said.
I gave her a disgusted look. “You are vulgar.”
I grabbed my sword and slipped it into a proper sheath. Indigo was out feeding.
“It�
�s true,” she said.
“That’s what I heard,” said Meg.
I opened the door and stepped out. Then I turned to my sisters. “Do not embarrass me. I mean it.” I shot them each a stern look.
Alex stuck her tongue out at me, and Meg crossed her eyes.
I threw up my hands. “You act like children. The both of you.”
My sisters snickered, and the three of us headed off into the dark night toward the courtroom of the Fates.
It took about an hour for the Fates to relay their verdicts. I learned that the escape was made possible through a combination of events: the black soul of Jason Helm and his ever-increasing knowledge of and faith in the dark arts, the unearthing of the gate via the humans, and, of course, the greedy, greased palm of Charon. It was the perfect storm.
The ferryman was found guilty of bribery, treason, and murder, since his actions had led to the deaths of Cicely Barnes, and Jason Helm, despicable as he was. His punishment for his crimes was banishment to a locked box in Tartarus.
I couldn’t have been more thrilled.
Athena was given a chance to speak to my proposal. She informed the court that she was working on an interworld communication system. “Much like the mortals’ Internet.”
A technology I would welcome.
At last, Atropos called on Archer and me to approach the bench.
“Tisiphone, I am pleased with your performance, although I must say the life Gacy took might have been prevented with more diligence on your part.”
My wings fluttered, but I bowed out of respect anyway. “Yes, Your Highness. It shan’t happen again.”
Archer stiffened beside me. He was about to say something to defend me, so I pinched him to keep his mouth shut.
He did.
“Archer Mays,” said Clotho, the middle sister.
Archer stood with his hands clasped behind his back. “Yes.”
“You have served the gods well. I must say, I was impressed with your part in this mission.”
“Thank you. But Tisiphone did most of the work.”
Clotho smiled. She looked to her sisters. “Modest too. We don’t see much of that around here, do we, Sisters?”
I heard Hades cough behind me.
The other two Fates nodded.
“How did you feel about working with a Fury?” Lachesis asked.
Archer cleared his throat. “It was my pleasure.”
“Hmm.” Lachesis nodded.
The three Fates huddled together, their heads bobbing.
Archer and I exchanged a look. I shrugged. I didn’t know what was going on. Then again, I never did when it came to the court.
After a few moments, the three old goddesses sat upright.
“Archer Mays,” Clotho said, “I hereby deem you a demigod.” She cracked the gavel on the bench.
“Excuse me?” Archer asked.
She ignored him. “Tisiphone, see to it that he fills out the proper paperwork.”
I nodded.
“Paperwork?” asked Archer.
“He’ll need training, of course, and a formal introduction to the gods,” said Atropos.
Clotho said, “And a gift. What is it that he’s good at, Tisiphone?”
One thing sprang to mind, but I didn’t think it would make a good answer.
“A gift?” Archer asked.
“Well, you must be good at something,” Lachesis said. “What do you think you should be the god of? You understand, I’m sure.”
Atropos counted off on her fingers. “There are the gods of music, poetry, war, hunt, wisdom, technology… The list goes on.”
I looked at Archer with a raised brow.
He was completely dumbstruck.
“Perhaps, Your Highness, we can first assure that his gift does not interfere with that of another god,” I said. “I’m sure the new demigod wouldn’t want to impose on anyone’s duties.”
The three Fates considered this.
Clothos said, “Quite right. No rush, I suppose. You can just fill it in on the paperwork.”
With that, court was dismissed.
I waited for the Fates to file out. Then I grabbed Archer’s hand and said, “Come on” before they changed their minds.
Outside, beneath the full moon of the Underworld, I kissed the newest god of the pantheon.
Archer put his hands around my waist. “What just happened?”
“What just happened is that we don’t have to be separated anymore.”
“Well.” He kissed me back. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me too.” I snuggled closer in his arms and buried my cheek in his chest, drinking in the scent of the clover soap he used.
“Hey, Tisi,” he whispered.
I looked at him. “Yes?”
“I’m really glad I died.”
I smiled. “Me too, Lawman.”
For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was happy. I had given my heart to another, and it felt good. It felt like it was meant to be, like it had always been Tisi and Archer.
Meg and Alex came out then, making smacking noises with their lips.
I broke away from my partner’s embrace.
“Oh, Archer, I love you,” Meg said to Alex in a singsong voice.
Alex turned to her and said in a similar tone, “Oh, Tisi, I love you too.”
Then they pretended to hug and kiss each other.
I tried, I really did, but the stress had been piling up for too long, and I couldn’t keep my fury at bay.
“That’s it.” I flew at both of them, tackling them to the ground simultaneously, and we rolled around, trying to strangle each other.
“Hey, stop that! Tisi, break it up.” Archer danced around us, not sure whom to pull off of whom.
Meg cut a right cross to my shoulder while Alex kicked me in the stomach. I grabbed my younger sister’s leg and flipped her on her back. She howled like a baby. I laughed. Then Meg body-slammed me into the ground, knocking the wind from my lungs. I grabbed her waist, and we tumbled into the sandaled feet of our dark lord.
I heard Archer ask, “Are they always like this?”
Meg slapped the back of my head, and I elbowed her ribs. Alex took a flying leap and piled on top of us.
Hades lit a cigar and put his arm around him. “Son, you have no idea. Come on, I’ll buy you a drink. You like to play poker?”
THE END
Author’s Note
This book is for anyone who has ever battled a demon. For anyone who has ever stared evil in the face and dared to fight back. For anyone who has refused to be a victim—and for those who were, who never had a voice, you do now.
While writers often invent villains, I chose to use a real-life monster in this story. What you read here regarding the details of John Wayne Gacy’s crimes, convictions, and pastimes is true. When the idea popped into my head (or, rather, the name, as I was writing one dark scene), I shunned it. I didn’t want him anywhere near this story, but the further away I pushed it, the more stubborn the muse grew. Something was telling me that Tisiphone had to battle this murderer—this once-living evil—and since the story knows best, she did.
Perhaps it was because the crimes and Gacy’s eventual arrest occurred close to my childhood home. Perhaps it was to enact a kind of literary justice for the victims, some of whom were never identified. Or perhaps it was to better understand Tisiphone’s views on humans and our justice system.
Whatever the reason, I hope this book encourages you to take back your power, no matter what you’ve battled.
There’s another historical figure in this story, James Butler Hickok. Wild Bill led an interesting, full life. This is from Wikipedia:
Born and raised on a farm in rural Illinois, Hickok went west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice, first working as a stagecoach driver, before he became a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska. He fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War, and gained publicity after the war as a scout, marksm
an, actor, and professional gambler. Between his law-enforcement duties and gambling, which easily overlapped, Hickok was involved in several notable shootouts. He was shot and killed while playing poker in the Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota).
Hickok was holding two pair when he was shot, all black aces and eights, known today as “dead man’s hand.”
One other component of this mythological tale that happens to be true came to me when I was nearly halfway through writing the book. I was researching the moons of the planet Pluto, Hades’s ruling planet, when I came across an article titled “Pluto’s Gate to Hell Uncovered in Turkey.” A Google search will lead you to articles about it and videos of the discovery, as well as to a visual interpretation of what the site may have looked like in ancient times.
Finally, fans of the Stacy Justice series might have noticed the appearances of that heroine in Tisiphone’s world. What can I say? I thought the woman needed a vacation. For readers unfamiliar with that paranormal-mystery series, I invite you to visit my website at www.barbraannino.com to learn more or head to Amazon to read a sample. If you would like to be notified about upcoming releases of any series or title, feel free to email me at [email protected] or become a fan of my author page on Facebook.
Warm blessings,
Barbra Annino
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Terry Goodman for his confidence and encouragement and for allowing this author to stretch her writer’s wings. Thanks to Alison Dasho, my editor and the newest member of the Thomas & Mercer team. Here’s to the start of a beautiful friendship. Big applause to the T&M team and my author relations liaison, Jacque Ben-Zekry, for all they do for me and my work.
Much appreciation goes to my sharp beta readers, who make suggestions and comments and tell me straight-up how it is. George Annino, Leslie Gay, and Selena Jones, your feedback is invaluable.
Finally, thank you to my husband for convincing me that Tisi’s voice needed to be heard. You’re my Archer.
About the Author
Photo by George Annino
Barbra Annino is a native of Chicago who currently lives in Galena, Illinois. Her past occupations include bartender, humor columnist, and bed-and-breakfast owner, but she now writes fiction full-time. You can find out more about her by visiting www.barbraannino.com or Facebook.com/AuthorBarbraAnnino or by emailing her at [email protected].
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