by Jen McConnel
Marcus’s eyes rolled back into his head, and blood seeped down his chest. He looked like he was about to fall over, and I tugged on his hands, trying to keep him upright. At first, I thought he’d somehow hurt himself by trying to channel too much magic, but then I saw Loki.
He was leaning casually by a guard armed with a frighteningly large gun. They were standing twenty feet away from us, and Loki’s hand was on the guard’s trigger finger. The guard looked confused, glancing at his gun and then back to the three of us. Suddenly, I understood. Marcus had been shot. For some reason, Loki had betrayed us. I glared at the god, trying to summon the magic I needed to fight him, but Loki just laughed and vanished.
Marcus gripped my hands again, sinking to his knees. “Izzy,” he began, blood bubbling up from his lips. I fought back a wave of nausea and terror.
“She’s here.” I let go of his hands so I could grab Izzy by the shoulders. I shook her a few times, trying to get her to wake up. Glancing back toward the guard, who looked less confused now, I dragged her toward Marcus. That guard was about to realize there were three trespassers in the complex, and I didn’t think he’d be too thrilled once his senses returned to him. We didn’t have much time.
I shook Marcus’s shoulder gently. “Here’s Izzy.”
She was still asleep, but Marcus smiled. He kissed her forehead, leaving a bloody print like lipstick between her eyebrows. “I love you,” he whispered, his voice fading.
“Marcus,” I shook his arm, panicked. “Marcus, I need you to help me. We have to stop this meltdown!” His arm was still warm, but it felt stiff, less lifelike. For a moment, everything froze, and then his chest fell as the last of his breath left him. I sucked in air quickly, fighting back tears. How had everything gone so wrong?
“Darlena?” Beside me, Izzy looked up, blinking like a tired kitten. “What’s going on?”
Dry grass snapped behind me, and I saw the guard raise his gun. He definitely didn’t look confused anymore. Somewhere in the wind, I thought I heard Loki’s laughter. What a fool I’d been to fall for this! Loki was free, chaos was rampant, and Marcus was dead. I looked at the guard again and grabbed Izzy’s hand, turning her away from the body. “We have to get out of here.”
“Okay.” She nodded slowly. Her eyes landed on Marcus, and her lips parted in a silent cry.
I gripped her hand tighter. “I’ll explain everything, but we have to get away now.”
She nodded again, and I pulled her to her feet. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I started to run, tugging Izzy along with me. She skidded to a stop, still holding my hand, and I jerked backwards.
“There’s an easier way.” She shut her eyes, and I braced myself for the dizzying experience of Marcus’s travel spell. Instead, blue sparks encompassed my body, pricking me, and everything dissolved in a hazy patch of blue light. The last thing I saw before we were whisked into darkness was Marcus’s bloody corpse, and then, mercifully, everything went black.
Izzy dropped her bag in a plastic chair and sighed. “I need coffee. Want some?”
I nodded, fishing a couple of crumpled bills out of my wallet. I handed them to her without a word, and she headed off. I leaned back, setting my feet gingerly on top of my backpack. Closing my eyes, I let my head hang off the back of the stiff airport chair.
“Leaving so soon?” a cold voice asked.
I kept my eyes closed for a moment, hoping that when I opened them, I would be alone, but unfortunately, I wasn’t. Freya sat beside me, her face expressionless.
“I think I’ve been here long enough, don’t you?”
She laughed harshly. “An ocean will not free you from your responsibilities.”
I felt my spine stiffen. “What are you talking about?”
“You went against my advice and made a bargain with the Lord of Chaos.”
My body felt like I’d fallen into any icy lake. “How do you know that?”
Freya shook her head. “Red magic is connected. As are the Red gods. We all know about your bargain.” Her lips curled back, revealing her sharp teeth. “And now that the Lord of Lies is free, we must all band together to stop him.”
Her words sank in and I sat bolt upright. “All of you?”
She nodded. “You’ve made many enemies among us. I should warn you to watch where you step, Darlena.”
“Are you threatening me?” I tried to muster up a tone of bravado, but I sounded as terrified as I felt.
The goddess glared at me. “As if I would sink so low. No, girl, I came to offer you a warning. There are not many Red gods left who will side with you, if that is what it comes to. The newest Red Witch is still undeclared, and many are rushing to win patronage of her.”
“The newest Red Witch? What do you mean?”
“Marcus is gone. You must have known that his death would open the door for another Red Witch.”
Her words chilled me. “But … ” I trailed off, stunned. I had never for a moment thought about that, but of course what Freya said made sense. There were always three Red Witches in the world. I shuddered, remembering Marcus’s gruesome end. Resolutely, I pushed the image of his bleeding body out of my mind and risked a question. “Will the new Witch help me stop Hecate?”
But the goddess was gone.
When Izzy got back, she took one look at my face and thrust a steaming cup at me. “You look awful.”
“Thanks,” I said wryly. “I feel pretty awful.”
“Still no luck getting things in France under control?” She dropped her voice, glancing around the airport nervously.
I shook my head. “I keep trying, but it’s not my territory.” Freya’s words rolled through my mind; I hadn’t really thought about the boundaries of Red magic before now. “And I don’t know who the other Red Witch is.”
“Should we find out who replaced Marc—my brother, and get her help?” Her voice broke, and I squeezed her shoulder. I couldn’t believe that Izzy was still willing to talk to me after everything I’d done.
“That might work, but right now, I need to go home. I’ve been gone way too long, and if anyone knows what to do, I think my mom might be able to help.”
She nodded. “It’s not your fault, Darlena. Loki tricked you.”
I gritted my teeth and gulped the coffee, scalding my mouth. “Still feels like my fault to me.”
Silently, we looked up at the monitor broadcasting the latest news. France had been declared a disaster area by the United Nations, and the world was scrambling in panic. I glanced around the busy Edinburgh airport. It had all been a blur: the nuclear meltdown, Loki’s betrayal, and Izzy transporting us back to Scotland. I looked at her. “How’d you manage to get us out of France, anyway?”
Izzy smiled. “Marcus taught me the traveling trick a few summers ago. I figured you’d want to be as far from the accident as possible.”
“I wish you could have transported me home.”
She shook her head. “What do I look like, the Witch of the North? It was too far for me to control the spell. This is the next best thing.”
I nodded, glancing around the Edinburgh airport for the last time. “Did you call your grandmother?”
“Yes.” She paused for a minute, her eyes growing dark. “It’s a good thing you won’t be visiting the Coven anytime soon.”
I shivered and tried to force a smile. “Why did you decide to come with me? Don’t they want to see you?”
Izzy tilted her head to one side thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I just have this feeling that you’ll need me.” She smiled impishly. “Besides, I’ve never been to the States!”
I smiled at her, but Marcus filled my mind and I frowned. I had tried to explain everything to Izzy, but I felt like my words kept getting tangled up. She said she understood and that she forgave me, but the guilt I felt threatened to overwhelm my senses. This was so much worse than when Rochelle died. At least then I could try to comfort myself with the knowledge that I’d acted in self-defense. Marcus’s death weighed on
me, and Loki’s betrayal burned. Everything had gone wrong, and it was my fault.
I turned to Izzy, about to make a promise to her that I would avenge Marcus’s death somehow, but just then the loudspeaker crackled to life.
“Flight 737 with service to New York is now boarding.”
Izzy smiled, picking up her bag and slinging it casually over her shoulder. “That’s us. Time for you to go home.”
I nodded. I picked up my bag and checked the glamour on it. It wouldn’t do me any good if airport security found the athame and the crystal, not to mention the strange chain. Hoisting the bag over my shoulder, I felt a shudder of revulsion: Loki’s bonds had that effect on me. I needed to figure out what they were and how to use them, and I hoped that Mom would know more than me. Or even Dad. I was through trying to do this alone, and I missed them.
Izzy and I boarded the flight, and I leaned my head gratefully against the cold window. Izzy turned around, chatting with the family sitting behind us, and the sound of her voice lulled me to sleep.
My dreams were filled with gore and fire. Loki’s laughter echoed around me, and Hecate’s sharp voice joined in. I forced myself awake and stayed awake for the rest of the flight.
After a long layover, Izzy and I landed in North Carolina early the next afternoon. I gave the taxi driver my address before I collapsed into the back seat. Izzy rode up front, still chattering away. I didn’t know how she could be so perky, even considering all the coffee we’d chugged. Jetlag had completely destroyed me.
When the driver pulled up at my house, he turned around.
“Are you sure they’re expecting you? It looks pretty vacant.”
He was right: the curtains were drawn and there was a sense of abandonment in the air.
“It’ll be fine. If they aren’t home, I’ve got my key.” I fished it out along with my wallet and paid the fare.
He started to say something, but he shut his lips. After counting the bills I’d handed him, he drove off, not even bothering to wave.
I looked at Izzy, who was swaying on the sidewalk. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I think the jetlag is finally catching up to me.”
“Don’t worry.” We headed up the front walk. “We’ve got a guest room with really thick curtains.”
“Wonderful! Maybe I’ll sleep for a week.”
“First, you have to help me figure out what to do in France!”
Izzy frowned. “I keep forgetting. It’s so easy to imagine that everything is normal.”
“I know.” I sighed. “Except I don’t think that anything will ever be normal again.”
My key turned easily in the lock, and we stepped into the house. I felt an overwhelming urge to burst into tears. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how homesick I was.
Izzy looked around curiously. “Is that your family?” She pointed to a framed photo, taken the spring my dad turned 50. Mom had thrown a true surprise party, complete with a blindfold and kidnapping, and she’d invited all of his friends. The party had taken up the big private room at the brew pub downtown, and Dad was thrilled. In the picture, he’s wearing a paper crown. Mom is sitting on his lap, laughing.
I nodded. “Mom said that’s the best photo anyone’s taken of them since their wedding.”
“I can’t wait to meet them.”
I dropped my bag and strode into the living room. “Mom? Dad? Are you guys home?”
Izzy flopped down on the sofa. “I could so pass out right now.”
I called again, louder. Silence answered me as I headed into the kitchen. My mom always kept a calendar by the phone. I hoped it would tell me where they were.
Xerxes looked up, startled, from his perch on top of the stove. He leaped down quickly and crossed the room to my ankles. Instead of twining around me the way he usually did, he stopped cautiously and sniffed my toes.
I laughed. “I bet I smell like all kinds of weird things, right, buddy?” I knelt down to pet the cat, which seemed to satisfy him. He butted his head against my hand, purring loudly. I scooped him up, happy to see at least one member of my family. “Oh, man, I’ve missed you.” I nuzzled the top of his head, fighting the overwhelming urge to cry.
I headed back to the living room with the cat. “There’s nothing on Mom’s calendar,” I told Izzy, “so they probably just went to run an errand. Do you want to lie down?”
“In a minute. Can I see your room first?”
Her eager tone made me think of something, and I studied her face. “Izzy, have you ever lived in a house?”
She shook her head. “No. Isis raised me, which was amazing, but I went right from the Duat to school.” She looked around the room again. “Your house is really pretty.”
I laughed, setting the cat down. “Make sure you say that to my mom. She wants to redecorate, but Dad keeps talking her out of it.”
We headed up the stairs, Xerxes scampering ahead of us. He rushed past the door to my room and flung himself into the bathroom, hissing. Izzy followed him making soothing noises.
“Crazy cat,” I muttered as I pushed open my door. My mirror image stared back at me and I jumped, startled. I’d forgotten all about Persephone.
“I was starting to wonder when you would come home.” The voice that spoke had an odd echoey quality. It was like listening to an old home movie. It was sort of creepy to watch another me talk, and I forced a smile.
“Thank you for doing this. I’m glad my family didn’t panic.”
The other me smiled. “My pleasure. It’s been fun. I especially liked hanging out with Justin.” She winked.
I grimaced. “I hope I can explain things to him.”
“Why would you need to do that?”
I stared at her, confused. “I’ve been gone a long time. He has a right to know. Plus,” I sighed, “things in Scotland didn’t go the way I’d hoped. I need Justin’s help.”
The goddess laughed. It was weird, hearing my own laugh like that. Did I really sound that shrill? “I’ll say things didn’t go as planned. They went better.”
“Better? What are you talking about?”
She just smiled.
I frowned at her, a terrible suspicion sinking into my stomach. Persephone wouldn’t stand there and laugh at what I’d done. “How did you get Hades to let you come?” I baited her, hoping she’d reveal whoever she actually was.
She laughed again, and the glamour dissolved. I froze in horror, trying to understand. This was so much worse than I had ever imagined, and for a minute, I couldn’t process what I was seeing.
Rochelle smiled at me, her eyes glistening. “No one lets me do anything, Darlena. I do as I please.”
I shook my head, stunned. “But you’re dead!”
She laughed. “What a shame that such an ignorant fool has so much power.”
“Are you a ghost?” I felt a sudden swell of hope. If Rochelle could come back from the dead, then maybe Marcus—
“No, no thanks to you.” Her voice was bitter, the voice I thought I’d never hear again. “You did a fair job when you tried to kill me, but I survived.”
“How?” I gaped at her in disbelief.
She smirked at me. “Would you believe me if I told you I could fly?”
I stared at her, torn between awe and disbelief. “That’s a lost art.”
Rochelle shook her head pityingly. “It’s not lost to those who listen. And remember, I’ve had good teachers.”
Suddenly, everything came rushing back to me. I reeled. “She taught you how to do that?”
Rochelle laughed. It was a sharp sound, like nails on a chalkboard. “There is much to learn from the gods. Yes, Hecate gave me flight. But she isn’t my only tutor.”
Her words filled me with fear. “Why would the others help you?”
She clicked her tongue. “Come on, Lena. You aren’t that stupid. Did you forget Hecate’s promise?”
I thought back, confused. Hecate had promised Rochelle she would become the next Red Witch once I w
as dead. “But you didn’t kill me.”
“No. Too bad; she would have really loved me then. But she kept her word, just as soon as there was a need.”
My mind couldn’t grasp what she was saying. “What do you mean?”
Rochelle’s lips curled up in a slow, triumphant smile. “I’m a Red Witch now. You won’t defeat me a second time.”
Did she mean she’d taken Marcus’s place? Panicked, I grabbed enough energy to defend myself. Rochelle raised her arms quickly, but before I could move, a flash of blue light cut through the room and struck Rochelle in the face.
“What—” she hissed, taking an involuntary step backward.
Izzy pushed into the room beside me, her hands raised defensively. I took advantage of Rochelle’s confusion to get a grip on my magic, but I didn’t strike. I didn’t think I could live with myself if I killed Rochelle twice.
“Who are you?” Rochelle’s voice held an edge of panic.
Izzy drew her shoulders back and glared at her. “I am Isadora, beloved of Isis.” Her hands moved quickly, and another flash of blue shot toward Rochelle. She deflected it, but her expression was changing from triumph to confusion, and finally to fear.
“Why didn’t they warn me about you?” she panted, moving backwards into my room, her hands flying frantically as she wove a spell.
Finally, I acted. I singed her hair with a burst of Red magic. She jerked in surprise, and I couldn’t resist taunting her.
“What’s the matter, Rochelle, didn’t your friends teach you how to fight another path?”
Izzy sent another blast of blue forward, driving Rochelle back to the window.
Rochelle glared at me. “This is not over. Remember, Darlena, when I face you alone, I will win.” She turned quickly, and the window exploded in a flurry of glass. I covered my eyes with my arm instinctively, and when I looked up, Rochelle was gone. Izzy rushed to the window, her eyes wide.
“She’s not out there. She really can fly!”
My knees felt shaky, and I suddenly thought I might faint. I leaned against the doorframe. Had that really just happened? I let Izzy lead me down the stairs. She pushed me onto the sofa, and Xerxes immediately hopped up on my lap, purring gently. Izzy left the room, but she returned in a few minutes carrying two steaming mugs of tea. I clutched mine as if it were a lifeline. For a few minutes, we sat in stunned silence. My brain was racing, but I couldn’t make sense of anything.