Hearing that the flood of Lost still continued unabated sent a sense of urgency through me. Whatever else was going on with my heritage, whatever war might happen, I couldn’t let it make me lose my focus or make me forget why I was doing all of this in the first place.
Caius took the paper from her outstretched fingers. I waited, impatient to know what it said. For several moments, he stared at it and I knew he was trying to work out whether it would truly help us or not. Finally, he handed it silently to me. I read the words twice.
…the eyes of the fettered and the veils that blind those who seek…
I sorted through my memories of Nadia to bring her exact words to mind. It hadn’t sounded pleasant. Ah yes, that was right. The words came back and I strung the two pieces of information together. In blood and sacrifice, the Key of Worlds will open the eyes of the fettered and remove the veils that blind those who seek…
I still didn’t know what the blood and sacrifice meant, and still didn’t like the sound of it, but at least it seemed like the dagger would help open the eyes and remove what was blinding us as opposed to opening a can of Spaghetti-Os. Maybe we were on the right track after all.
I read the words one more time before handing the scrap of paper back to Caius. “It sounds like it will help us see what we can’t right now. So maybe it will help us find whoever, or whatever, is causing the Lost.” Something about the words rubbed me wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint why. And really, what choice did we have but to follow this to the end?
Caius frowned at the paper as if he’d come to the same conclusions I had, both the spoken and the unspoken. “It could mean that.”
Nyx shrugged. “I wish I had an answer for you either way.” She started for the door. “Let me show you where you will be sleeping tonight. Then you can have dinner.”
“I’m surprised you have real food here,” Caius said, tucking the roll of paper with the location of the second key back into its tube and sliding it into his pocket as he followed her.
Feeling a bit like a third wheel, I trailed after them with Amisi close on my heels. Nyx glanced back at us, her every movement so graceful it would make a ballerina cry. “You know I usually try to keep it around in case someone shows up seeking shelter.” Her gaze rested on me as she explained, “This is a place to rest for those few who can cross into the mortal world, especially when they need to lay low.”
I got the feeling she had explained the last bit for my benefit since Caius already seemed familiar with Nyx and her home. Curious, I asked, “Do you often have people seeking shelter here?”
“Not often. It isn’t terribly rare either. Other than you and your friends, I only have one other shelter seeker right now.”
This interested Caius. “Who is here that needs to lay low?”
She gave him a sidelong look. “Bryson.”
Caius stiffened, coming to an abrupt halt. “Bryson is here?” The question came out as a growl.
“Laying low, as I said.” She placed a placating hand on his shoulder. “The rules of my house still stand; he knows he is not to attempt to use his…persuasion on any of my guests.”
This seemed to only partially mollify Caius. Since I was completely out of the loop and they weren’t in any hurry to clue me in, I asked, “Who is Bryson?”
Caius’s suddenly glowing eyes were sharp on mine when he answered, “Someone you will stay away from.”
“Truly, Caius there is no danger here.” Nyx’s voice was soothing.
“As long as he obeys the rules, so will I.”
“If he doesn’t, you are free to seek retribution however you see fit.” Nyx didn’t seem concerned that Caius’s way might be rather violent.
Though curiosity raged in me over whoever this Bryson was and whatever it was he’d done in the past to incur Caius’s wrath, I decided to let it rest for now. I would ask him later when he looked less like he was on the verge of letting his demon half loose. Nyx was being quite hospitable—sometimes a bit too much—and I didn’t want her kicking us out. So I asked instead, “Where is the second key?”
“In a cave in the mortal world,” Caius answered, the hard look in his eyes telling me he was still upset about whoever Bryson was.
“Back to the mortal world.” I sighed, feeling a bit like a ping-pong ball bouncing back and forth between worlds.
As we neared the large room we’d started in, I could hear the wind howling beyond the cave entrance and it underscored our need to stay on Nyx’s good side. She might not appreciate Caius going demon in her home.
“Before I show you to your room, perhaps we should make a detour,” Nyx said as she led us down another hallway.
Caius raised an eyebrow. “A detour to where?”
“You two have set yourselves on a dangerous path.” Nyx appraised us, her gaze lingering on me. “You have equipped yourself for it, Caius, but your companion has not. I still make and keep armor.”
“At what price, Nyx?” Caius sounded wary.
She gave me an enigmatic smile. “For this little one, no price.”
I raised my chin. “I won’t protect myself with armor while Rowen, Bethany, and James go without.”
“Spirited aren’t you. Good, you will need to be.” Nyx stopped in front of a heavy wooden door. “I have no need of payment for this. I only ask you remember the generosity.”
“And my friends?” I narrowed my eyes, prepared to turn around and walk away. As nice as armor sounded, to accept her offer while leaving them without would feel like throwing them to the wolves while I ran away.
Nyx pursed her lips as her gray eyes weighed my determination. “If you insist, then I suppose they could be outfitted as well.”
“What game are you playing, Nyx?” Caius asked.
“This is no game, Caius.” She leaned close to the door and whispered something against the heavy wood then turned back to us. “Follow me.”
With an irritated sigh, Caius motioned me forward. Amisi remaining close as I moved carefully down the long flight of spiraling stone stairs, wishing I had the grace to glide down them like Nyx. Glowing orbs of light appeared on the wall as we descended, keeping the steps brightly lit.
When we finally reached the bottom, more lights sprang up around a large stone chamber. It felt eerily similar to the one we’d found the first key in except instead of the walls being covered in runes, they were covered in armor and pieces of armor that looked like what Caius and his siblings wore.
Amisi prowled the room while Nyx selected one of the armored tunics and laid it on a table in the middle of the room. “Put that on.”
“Um, I think it’s too big.” It looked large enough I could squeeze two of me in it.
Caius crossed his arms and leaned against an open span of wall. “It will adjust to your size.”
“Okay,” I drew the word out, staring at the overlapping panels as I approached it. The workmanship was nothing short of fantastic and looked like Caius’s in every way. There were no lacings or anything. It would have to go over the head then.
The armor was surprisingly light when I lifted it, stuffed my arms in, and pushed my head through so it could settle over me. Nyx came back with a pair of bracers and a set of leg armor that she set on the table. She reached out and tapped the armor.
“Oh, whoa,” I gasped as the armor flashed warm and began to shift on its own, forming itself to my body and size. The bracers and the coverings for my legs did the same after I put them on. It was all incredibly light. When she handed me a pair of boots and I pulled them on, they melded their shape to fit my feet exactly. “How is the armor so flexible? It’s almost like I’m not wearing it at all.”
Nyx smiled warmly. “The beauty of having armor constructed by a goddess. I don’t offer it to just anyone.”
“Her armor is highly coveted in both the Heavens and the Hells,” Caius said. “No one makes it quite like her.”
“So do I have to worry about someone stealing it?” I held out an arm, admiring w
hat I saw. Amisi leaped gracefully onto the table and sat. She blinked slowly at me as if she approved of my new trappings.
“All of my armor binds to its owner.” Nyx walked a circle around me, eyeing her handiwork. “If someone else tries to wear it, the armor will shrink to the size of a glove before they can put it on, and refuse to budge until you have it back in your possession. Like any armor, it won’t stop everything. What it doesn’t stop, it usually slows down with only a few exceptions. When it’s damaged, it will repair itself. If you can’t wear it, it will shrink into an easier to carry size.” She ran her gaze up and down me. “It will adjust to your needs. If you lose weight…or gain it, the armor will accommodate.”
“Intelligent armor, who knew?” I looked down at my chest, trying to see it better.
Caius glanced at Nyx. “An interesting insignia.”
“Isn’t it?” she replied as she rolled a stand mirror out so I could see myself.
I gazed at the woman reflected back at me. Standing in a suit of fantasy book worthy armor, I looked like a warrior. The dark grey armor was edged in a green so pale it was almost white. A vine and leaves, that resembled what had appeared on my shoulder, made a small, looping design on one side of my chest. I trailed my fingers over it. “What’s wrong with it?”
Caius shrugged. “Nothing is wrong with it. It’s just not one I’ve seen before. The armor chooses the insignia based on what it thinks of the person wearing it. They are individual and yet not. Each one says something about the wearer, but also where the wearer is from.”
I eyed the flame with indigo smoke surrounding it on Caius’s chest, noting again how the smoke held the resemblance of wings. If I hadn’t known Caius’s heritage, I wouldn’t have noticed. So the armor knew things about people. Did Nyx know? Hades had implied he knew when he said he would keep Caius’s secret.
Turning my attention back to my own insignia, I asked, “What does mine mean?”
“It means I chose correctly when I decided to give you the armor,” Nyx said.
“What do you know, Nyx?” Caius’s tone said her roundabout answer irritated him.
Nyx walked by him on her way to the stairs, trailing her fingers across his cheek as she passed. “I know a great many things, my dear. Some I’m not at liberty to speak of.” She beckoned us. “Come, I will show you to your room.”
We were silent as we followed her back to the main room and up a wide staircase that followed the curved walls. At the top, she led us down a door-lined hall. The smooth white marble floors continued on this level and each door looked like it had been made from carefully shaped driftwood. Nyx led us to one of the doors. “Everything you need to clean up or rest is in here. Take as much time as you like and please feel free to ask for something if I have failed to provide it.”
“If you don’t mind,” Caius said, “I have some questions.”
Nyx inclined her head as if she expected as much. Caius leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Get cleaned up, I will see you at dinner when you are finished.”
I nodded and turned to push open the door as Nyx and Caius moved down the hall. Amisi followed me when I entered the room. It had the same marble floors. A round window faced the sea, the light coming through it dulled by the storm beyond. The large bed in the center of the room was covered in bedding that was the same shade of turquoise as the cove outside. Amisi leaped on the bed and began washing her front leg as if the bed was there specifically for her. An armoire made of sandstone with drawers and cabinet fronts that looked like they were constructed of the same wood as the door stood against one wall. Another wooden door opened into a bathroom. That was good.
Unsure of how easy the tunic part of the armor would come off, I started with the rest, leaving that until last. When I was finally ready to tackle it, I began tugging it off. The armor released the moment I pulled, becoming shapeless and a bit larger. It came off easy and I carefully set it in the armoire along with the other pieces, admiring it one more time before I headed into the bathroom.
I took my time cleaning up, enjoying the chance to use soap and water. Cleaning with my powers just wasn’t as satisfactory as an actual bath. Plus, the mundane process helped to settle my nerves. I couldn’t wait to be away from this place. Everything was so strange and different that for a moment, I had an intense longing to be back in my mom’s house in the mortal world, curled on the sofa in the small living room with a book while I listened to my mother hum as she cooked dinner. I shoved away the inevitable pang of unresolved grief. She was gone and crying about it wasn’t going to change it.
I reveled again in the fact I could create new clothes. It was nice to pull on a pair of clean jeans and a rose-colored top. After discovering a brush in the bathroom, I worked the snarls out of my straight black hair. It fell mid-way down my back now. I would have to consider shortening it, but now wasn’t the time. I wondered idly if I could do that with my powers too and then decided I shouldn’t even attempt it. Who knew what kind of horrible mess I would end up with.
Amisi stayed right with me when I left the room, fully refreshed and feeling better. I tread quietly down the corridor to the wide, sweeping stairs. When I reached the room we’d first arrived in, the golden-red mermaid met me and led the way to a massive dining hall dominated by a long, wide sandstone table. Tension hung thick in the air as Nyx stood between Caius and a blond man with violet eyes. Though not as tall as Caius, there was something languid in the way the man moved. Something in his face, and reflected in his body, that said he likely had no trouble attracting either men or women.
There was nothing that spoke of attraction in Caius’s expression. Murderous would be the best way to describe the way Caius glared at the stranger. Nyx stood between the two, a placating hand on Caius’s chest. Or maybe it was a restraining hand. “There will be no problems, Caius. Bryson knows well the rules of my house.”
So this was the mysterious Bryson. I wondered again what he’d done that brought Caius’s demon side so close to the surface. Amisi flattened her ears against her head and glared at the stranger. I glanced at the others. Rowen wore a look that wasn’t much more civil than Caius’s. Bethany and James seemed wary. Open hostility shadowed Lilly’s face and Malik’s demon side appeared to be as close to the surface as Caius’s.
After a long drawn out moment, Nyx turned to Bryson. “Perhaps it would be best if you took your meals in your room until my other guests have departed.”
An amused look flashed across Bryson’s face. “Perhaps.”
I watched him walk from the room before turning my attention on Caius. “What was that about?”
“Bryson is an incubus,” Rowen said into the tense silence that followed my question.
“Oh.” Well, that explained some of the general freak out. Not that I was too worried. From what I’d learned since coming to this side—admittedly there were some giant holes—I didn’t have enough mortal in my genetics to be susceptible to an Incubus’s charms although Bethany and James might be at risk. “I don’t think that will be much of an issue for me.”
“It’s just long-standing enmity.” Nyx sighed. “None of you have to worry.” A low growl rumbled from the demonborn, but Nyx shot them a glare that silenced them. “As I said, there is nothing for anyone to fear in my house. The meal is ready, I suggest you eat.”
We all moved silently to the table and took our seats. Nyx passed the first dish to Caius and said, “Now, do tell me what has led up to you arriving on my doorstep.”
While Caius gave her a condensed version of our adventures, or messes depending on how one wanted to look at it, we passed dishes back and forth as we filled out plates.
Dinner was a mix of fish and vegetables that, while unfamiliar, were nonetheless delicious. Or rather, most of it was. There were some green things that resembled green beans that the demonborn and Rowen seemed to be enjoying. It didn’t look appetizing, but I decided to brave it anyway. The second I placed a bite in my mouth, I knew it was a big nop
e. The slimy texture coated my tongue and when I bit into it, something gushed into my mouth. I spit it out, trying vainly not to gag.
As I gulped my drink that had the distinct sweet taste of the berries I’d grown fond of, Rowen chuckled. “Seran eels take some getting used to.”
“Seran…as in the demon snake thing?” My mind floundered as it tried not to think of what I’d just put in my mouth.
“Related to them, but not demons. Just creatures of the Between.” Rowen popped one in his mouth and chewed. The urge to vomit rose and I quickly fixed my attention on the other food on my plate. A white flaky fish marinated in herbs was the first thing my gaze lit upon. I scooped up a bite, hoping desperately it wasn’t slimy. The flavors burst across my tongue, unfamiliar and delicious as the tender meat practically melted in my mouth. Without looking too closely at them, I scraped the remainder of the eels on my plate to Amisi who lingered near my chair. She happily ate them and meowed for more. I scooped a large amount out of the dish and gave them to her. Disgusting cat. Refusing to think of the nasty things, I dove into the rest of the food.
The rest of dinner went well as conversation flowed around our gathered group mostly led by Nyx who seemed fascinated by us, and who, after seeing me share with Amisi, had a plate of the different kinds of seafood on the table prepared especially for the cat. Although Amisi still wouldn’t go near the goddess, the cat seemed pleased with the offering.
By the time we were finished, the mix of the long day and a pleasantly full and satisfied stomach combined to make me drowsy and relaxed. I hardly paid attention to where I was going when I finally left the others and made my way to the room I was sharing with Caius. I collapsed on the bed, barely pulling the covers over me or noticing Amisi’s heavy weight on the bed next to me before I was asleep.
***
“My pleasure at having Jo outfitted in armor made by Nyx was marred only by the presence of Bryson.” ~Caius
Chapter 19
Terror gripped me in the dream. Enemies surrounded me. I heard them, though I couldn’t see them through thick fog. My breath came in pants as I stumbled over the uneven ground. And then I stood in the doorway of my mom’s house in the mortal world. Outside, cold rain lashed down in the dark. Inside, the warm kitchen light and scent of freshly baked cookies created a cozy sense of safety as my mom moved around the kitchen, humming.
Betrayed (Raven Daughter Book 2) Page 14