My Soul to Take

by Amy Sumida

  “Lunch,” he shrugged.

  “Oooh more food,” I laughed. “That's always a good thing. Unless of course the food is along the Temple of Doom variety.”

  “Pardon?” He lifted a dark brow. “The Temple of Doom is a category of cuisine?”

  “It's an Indiana Jones movie,” I sighed. “They get fed monkey brains and eyeball soup.”

  “Come along, Lala,” he helped me out of the car, right onto a carpet which extended from the tent in welcome. “I promise there won't be any doom dining.”

  Beneath the extravagant draped fabric, a wonderland of lush carpets, low couches, and lounging pillows was laid out invitingly. There was a squat brass table set before the couches, already laden with vibrantly colored plates full of exotic food. And not a single monkey in sight. Waiters stood off to the side, holding pitchers of water and wine, ready to serve us.

  “Whoa,” I blinked in surprise as he led me to one of the couches.

  “Do you like it?” He smiled like a child waiting to be rewarded for a fabulous report card.

  “I love it,” I leaned back into pillows once more and sighed. “These Egyptians sure do like to lounge.”

  “Who doesn't?” Re leaned back with me as a man came forward and started filling brightly colored plates with an assortment of food for us. “Thank you,” Re nodded to the waiter and he stepped back to stand with the others. “Are you hungry?” He handed me my plate.

  I took it and slid closer to him, so we could lean against each other as we ate.

  “I'm always hungry,” I took a bite of some sweetly savory dish and sighed. “Damn this is the heart of hedonism.”

  “That would be my heart,” Re kissed my forehead. “Which you hold, so technically it's your heart.”

  “I wonder what your followers would think to discover that their sun god is such a romantic,” I mused.

  “They'd think I must be the most accomplished romancer there has ever been,” he said smugly. “How could I be anything but?”

  “And there's my guy,” I giggled and gave him a quick kiss. “I have no idea when this narcissistic attitude of yours became charming.”

  “It sneaks up on you,” he winked at me. “Speaking of which...”

  “You're sneaking up on me?”

  “No,” he chuckled. “Well, maybe later. But seriously, I went to see Dionysus.”

  “Why?” I frowned, instantly wary. “What happened?”

  “Because of Pasithea,” he reminded me. “How you need her to stop producing Net.”

  “Oh,” I said with relief.

  I had completely forgotten that we needed to deal with the fact that Hades had handed Pasithea over to her father for safe keeping and Dionysus had been allowing Pasithea to continue selling Net... which was exactly the opposite of what he was supposed to do. But that's what you get for handing a prisoner over to her father.

  “What did Di say?” I sat up for this conversation.

  “He said he thought he was just supposed to watch her and keep her in his territory,” Re shrugged. “He didn't understand that he was supposed to stop her business activities but he promised to do so now that he knows it's what Hades wants.”

  “That's good,” I watched him carefully. “Why don't you seem more happy about it?”

  “Because he had some news,” Re cleared his throat. “Phantasus was killed.”

  “Morph's brother?” I gaped at him.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh no,” I sighed. “How did it happen?”

  “There was a fight,” Re said grimly. “Huitzilopochtli and Eztli against Phantasus and several other gods.”

  “Blue fought Phantasus?” I frowned.

  “If you recall, Eztli was romantically involved with Phantasus.”

  “Oh right,” I worked it through. “So Phantasus must not have taken kindly to Eztli breaking things off.”

  I didn't think for one second that Blue had instigated the violence. He could be aggressive of course but Blue was not a poor winner.

  “It appears so.”

  I wasn't a fan of Phantasus. He'd tried to kill me once, so I think my opinion of him was valid. Still, I loved Morpheus and I knew that Morpheus loved his brother, no matter what Phantasus had done. He had just lost his father, Hypnos, and that had been rough on him but this would be so much worse.

  “Morpheus lived with his brothers for a long time. They weren't exactly isolated, they could roam the Realm of Dreams, but they only truly socialized with each other,” I said. “He's going to be devastated.”

  “I know,” Re grimaced. “Which is why I'm telling you instead of him. I think the news should come from someone he cares about and who cares about him.”

  “Damn,” I shook my head. “Okay, I'll tell him.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Thank you for handling the Pasithea problem,” I cocked my head at him. “Looks like you really do listen to me.”

  “What was that?”

  “Ha ha,” I slapped his chest and then leaned back into his side. “Now can we forget about everyone else and just enjoy the rest of our date?”

  “That I heard,” he grinned and then looked up at our waiters. “We're fine here, thank you.”

  They filed off behind the tent and Re turned to me with a mischievous look.

  “What; I don't even get to finish my lunch first?”

  “I don't know about you,” he purred, “but I'm a marvelous multi-tasker.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  When I got home to Pride Palace the next evening, it was to find Blue waiting for me.

  He was on the drawbridge veranda with Kirill, watching the sunset and enjoying a beer. Trevor had gone to check on Moonshine, our night club in Hawaii, and Azrael had been called in to work- which basically means souls were backing up, waiting for him to collect them. I had gone up to an empty bedroom and searched the towers till I finally found Odin in his personal bedroom (each of them had a tower room for some private space), catching up on some reading with Geri and Freki laying across his feet. Odin had brought his wolves and ravens over from Asgard awhile back and although Nick, my gray tabby cat, didn't exactly get along with the wolves and often tried to catch the ravens, they lived pretty harmoniously together. Mainly because both wolves and ravens preferred to be outdoors.

  But the wolves were inside with their best friend now and their bestie was loathe to move them- sort of like cat paralysis except with wolves. So Odin had remained upstairs while Kirill had gone down to greet our guest and keep him company until I arrived. Because evidently, it was me Blue wanted to see. So I kissed Odin on the cheek and gave each wolf a few scratches before rushing back downstairs. Yes, I rushed. In case you haven't caught on yet, I'd been concerned about Blue.

  “Hey, you,” I smiled in relief to see Blue in perfect health. I walked across the veranda to where he was seated with Kirill, my heels thumping hollowly on the wooden boards even though they were covered with an area rug. “Long time no see, stranger.”

  “Vervain,” he stood to hug me. “It's wonderful to see you. It has been a long time.”

  “So what happened?” I motioned for him to take his seat again as I sat beside Kirill.

  “I found her,” he smiled as he sat. “We've worked things out.”

  “Yes, I heard something about you kicking a lamia out of Eztli's night club,” I teased him as I nestled into Kirill's side. He casually slung an arm over my shoulder.

  “Really?” Blue blinked in surprise. “How...?”

  “They hang with Hekate, remember?” I reminded him. “And Hekate is with Horus.”

  “Oh, of course,” he laughed. “Well, I...”

  “You're happy,” I whispered joyously. “Look at you, you're so happy... and I'm happy for you,” I leaned forward and squeezed his hand. “Congratulations, Blue.”

  “Thank you,” he grinned. “Actually, I came to deliver this,” he handed me a large envelope.

  I opened it and showed the card to Kirill; a w
edding invitation. We both congratulated him again.

  “Of course we'll attend,” I said to Blue. “I'm looking forward to it.”

  “You should have been at ours,” Kirill chided him.

  “I know,” Blue cleared his throat. “And I'm deeply sorry to have missed it. There were issues-”

  “Don't worry about it,” I cut him off and gave Kirill a quelling look. “It would have been nice to have you there but I'm much happier knowing that you were missing because you were working towards your own matrimony. It's so wonderful, Blue. You've loved each other for a very long time and you've been separated for most of it. That you could move past all the pain and anger to decide to spend forever with each other... well, it's a fairy tale ending.”

  “Ve are happy for you,” Kirill amended, leaning forward to shake Blue's hand.

  “Thank you both,” Blue nodded. “I hope you won't hold what Eztli did against her.”

  “What; you mean that whole kidnapping me and trying to take the blood of my baby thing?” I scoffed. “Nah, it's all good. There's no bad blood between us... mainly because she didn't get any blood.”

  “Vervain,” Blue laughed and shook his head.

  “Vervain, eh?” I asked softly. “What happened to little witch?”

  “I guess I'm trying to move beyond our past too,” he shrugged.

  “Don't do that,” I said seriously. “Our past was rocky but it was also victorious. I think about that every time you call me by that nickname.”

  “Then I promise to continue to do so,” he vowed.

  “Um, there's something I'd like to ask you about, now that I have you here,” I glanced at Kirill. “And this will be the first Kirill hears of it too.”

  “What's that?” Blue cocked his head at me.

  “Tima?” Kirill frowned.

  “I've just been told that Phantasus is dead,” I announced. Kirill inhaled sharply but Blue just sighed and looked away. “Re said you and Eztli fought him.”

  “We did but I wasn't the one who killed him,” Blue shook his head. “It was Morvran. He had taken a liking to Eztli and was watching over her. She and I were both hit with Net during the final stages of the battle and Phantasus would have killed me but Morvran interceded.”

  “Morvran?” I asked. “I'm not familiar with that god.”

  “He's a Celtic god of war,” Blue explained. “He tried to save Eztli but Phantasus traced away with her. So he moved me into a safer spot and then chased after them.”

  “Chased after them?” I frowned. “Through the Aether?”

  “He had some kind of a tracking spell on Eztli,” Blue shrugged. “I would be upset about it but he saved both of our lives, so it would seem petty now.”

  “So Morvran killed Phantasus?” I clarified.

  “Beheaded him from behind, I'm told,” Blue nodded. “Though I would have killed him if I'd been able to. Morvran rescued Eztli from Phantasus and as much as I'm thankful to him, it bothers me that he was successful where I was not.”

  “He made sure you vere safe before he left?” Kirill asked and Blue nodded. “And you say he has love for Eztli?”

  “He does,” Blue grimaced, “and I don't know how to feel about that.”

  “Vell, he could have killed you vhile you vere under Net and Eztli vould not have known it vas him who did so. But he didn't, he saved you despite vanting your voman,” Kirill observed. “He sounds like good man. Or at very least, he has honor.”

  “Well, like all of us, he has his motivations,” Blue noted. “But so far, they align with mine. So I'm grateful for them.”

  “Me too,” I smiled at Blue. “I'm glad you're alive.”

  “So am I,” Blue stood and I stood as well, to give him a hug before Kirill and I walked him to the tracing chamber. “Thank you for encouraging me to follow my heart, little witch,” he kissed my cheek and then traced back to his fiance.

  “So he's marrying ze Vampire Queen,” Kirill mused.

  “Looks like it,” I nodded.

  “I wonder if she'll give him a blood oath.”

  “I'm going to kick your ass, Ganza!” I slapped his arm as he chuckled.

  Chapter Twenty

  Blood to Heart. It was just as simple as it sounded actually. Except it had to be done with intent, as all magic did. Re's speech had not only changed my mind about making the oath, it had changed how I felt about it. If I was going to do it, I'd do it right; with love and happiness, as I had entered our marriage.

  So the very next day, we made our oaths, standing in a circle in our bedroom. No fancy ritual was needed, just us and our devotion to each other. I cut the pad of Odin's thumb and he placed it on my chest, over my heart. I felt the magic in his blood seep into my skin and then much further. I inhaled sharply as a crisp breeze blew threw me and Odin spoke inside my head.

  My blood to your heart.

  Brief but full of emotion. His words in my mind cemented the oath and it blossomed through my veins like a shot of Net. Except this drug freed me instead of enslaving. Still, it was addicting. I wanted more of it, more of him; the god who had defied death for me.

  Odin's thumb fell away and I looked down to see that there was no blood on my skin, it had been completely absorbed. His hand went to my cheek and we shared a smile.

  “This is the second time for us,” Odin studied my face as if he were searching for Sabine within it. “Do you remember?”

  “No, I-” but I stopped because suddenly, I did. “Yes, I do. We were lying in the grass. I remember the clouds were so thick, the whole sky was nearly white but still, the sun shone through them.”

  “And I asked you what your thoughts were on,” he nodded.

  “I said; Heaven,” I whispered.

  “And I asked you to live there with me,” he sighed. “You accepted and I told you about the oath. Do you recall what you said then?”

  “Yes. I told you that if it meant you'd stop pestering me about my thoughts, I'd give you as much blood as you wanted.”

  My other husbands burst into surprised laughter.

  “So you haven't changed much,” Trevor said to me.

  “No,” Odin answered for me. “She's the same woman I've always loved. Neither time nor magic could change her.”

  “That's kind of comforting,” I kissed Odin's cheek and then turned to Azrael. “You ready?”

  “I thought you'd never ask,” Az grinned.

  I cut his thumb for him and he placed it over my heart. The thumping heartbeat in my ears turned into the whoosh of wings and I closed my eyes as Azrael's magic flew through my body. A flash of snow... no; bone. It formed into a smiling skull crying acid tears, like the masks of Comedy and Tragedy combined. Then it turned into the sweet visage of my angel, his name blazing blue on his cheek in angelic script. The divine language brightened until all I saw was the word. Its mystery fell away and I was able to read it for the very first time

  His name became a part of me, so that not only did I read it but I possessed its true meanings. That script encompassed all of his names, not just Azrael but also Izrail, Azrin, Izrael, Azriel, Azrail, Ezraeil, Azraille, Azryel, Ozryel, Azraa-eel, and even the title of Malak al-Maut; Angel of Death. And those names declared all that he was; mercy, compassion, protection... and vengeance. It was both a sign of hope and a warning. But to me, it was simply the man I loved.

  My blood to your heart, Azrael's voice filled my mind and washed away the image of his name.

  I swayed and two pairs of hands caught me, steadied me. I looked up into shimmering peacock eyes set beside eyes of flashing diamonds. I knew the minds behind those eyes, knew what they were thinking and feeling. These weren't like my bonds with my shifters, they didn't manifest into something substantial such as an animal shape. I didn't hold a part of their souls like I did with Trevor or hold the magic that sustained them like with Kirill. But Odin and Azrael had become just as solid inside me as Trevor and Kirill were. I could see their presence and even feel it. Odin's was an amethyst clo
ud, a misty form which was nonetheless heavy with intensity. Azrael's was lighter in weight and brilliant white, it would have been blinding if I'd been using my physical eyes to view it. I luxuriated in the feeling of having them with me and then I lifted my hands.

  Odin cut my left thumb and I placed it carefully to his chest, right above his heart. He shivered and closed his eyes as my consciousness flowed into him. My magic rushed ahead of me and found a place to anchor us, a hold on the greatest god of the Northmen. I felt suddenly possessive; like thrusting a flag into newly discovered land. I had him now, he was all mine, and I wasn't ever going to let go. Not this time.

  My blood to your heart, I spoke into his head and felt him sigh in satisfaction.

  I pulled myself reluctantly out of my newly claimed territory and took a deep, stabilizing breath. Then I turned to my angel and nodded. Azrael cut the pad of my thumb with a swift movement of his blade. I watched the blood well up and then caught Azrael's stare as I placed my hand to his chest. He flinched and gasped as the magic zinged out of me, ready and waiting this time to do its job. It was eager to collect more, to take our men and make them truly ours. Marriage could be dissolved but this, this was eternal.

  I found the hold I needed and set the oath; My blood to your heart.

  Azrael took a shaky breath and opened his eyes as I withdrew. I met his stare and for the briefest moment, I saw myself, as if I were looking through his eyes. He smiled, as if he knew what I'd seen and was happy to share his sight with me. I gave Azrael a gentle kiss and then I turned around to face my shifters.

  As I had callously noted to Trevor, they couldn't give me their oath but as Trevor had pointed out; their bond was already mine. I felt them inside me, rising up in anticipation of sealing our circle and making our oaths complete. Balance, that's what was needed, and I gaped at them as I realized that this could be exactly what my lioness and wolf needed to feel more stable.

  “Vervain?” Trevor asked, his honey eyes starting to look concerned.

  “I think this might help my star,” I whispered in awe. “At the very least, it will calm my wolf and lioness.”