by Amy Sumida
“Are you kidding?” I laughed. “We can use all the help we can get. I'm thrilled to have you with us.”
“Thank you,” her smile was as bright as the flames within a hearth.
“Yes, thank you, Vervain,” Thor put his arm behind Brighid's chair and leaned my way.
It was something he used to do with me and I had a brief moment of reminiscing warmly. It was so nice to be able to think of him and I together without feeling angry or sad anymore. I met his eyes and realized that it was the same for him, he'd finally reached a place where he could remember us fondly.
“What a lovely pendant,” I changed the subject, focusing on a gold symbol at Brighid's throat.
“Oh,” her hand flew to it automatically. “It's my cross, the cross my people used to represent me.”
“How unusual,” I looked at it more closely. It had four branches that came out from a central square. “It almost looks like bundles of reeds.”
“Yes, straw actually,” she nodded. “Crosses were woven out of straw and kept in the home to ward off fire and evil.”
“Fire huh?” I eyed it.
“One of my talents,” she laughed. “It's a good thing we're on the same side.”
“What else do you do,” I shrugged, “magically speaking?”
“I'm the Goddess of Poetry, Smithing, Medicine, Cattle, and Spring.”
“Oooh I've got Spring too,” I laughed and held up my pinky. “Wanna be besties?”
“I would be honored to call you friend,” she said seriously.
“Thank you,” I was touched. “Friends are something you can never have enough of.”
Every time I found a new god or goddess who respected me and wanted to fight for humans beside me, I felt so grateful and a little humbled but this, this guileless offer of friendship blew me away. It reminded me a little of Persephone and I looked over at Sephy, across the table from me. She gave me a little wave and I waved back.
“Okay, I think everyone's here,” Trevor looked around the table. “Wait, where's Azrael?”
“I'm here,” Azrael came sweeping into the room, eyes tight with anxiety. He took a seat on the other side of Trevor after giving me a quick peck on the cheek. “Please, tell us your news.”
“We've discovered that a god is behind the recent sonar blasts which have been killing marine life, including merfolk,” Trevor began.
“I'm sorry,” Horus sniffed delicately. “Did you just say merfolk? Are you talking about the fey? I didn't realize so many of them have come through.”
“No, not fey,” Kanaloa took over and explained about the aquatic race that branched off from humanity. “Sonar used in high decibels can cause physical damage to them and other ocean life. Fatal damage.”
“That's why the whales have been beaching themselves,” Pan nodded.
“Oh, please,” Horus grimaced at him. “Don't pretend that you knew all about this.”
“I'm not pretending, worm breath,” Pan growled. “I've heard about the whales. Hello? There's a whole campaign called Save the Whales.”
“Hey,” I pointed a finger at Horus and then Pan. “I will put you two in time-out if I have to.”
“Sorry,” Pan mumbled but Horus just rolled his eyes.
“People, this is serious,” Trevor hit the table. “Torrent was able to stop an attack today, and I do mean attack because there is a god behind this. One who uses angels to do his dirty work.”
“What?” Azrael sat up straight in his seat. “What's this about angels?”
“I saw Gabriel today,” I reached across Trevor and squeezed Azrael's hand. “He influenced a Navy captain to use their sonar in a way that would have surely caused numerous deaths. The captain refused but Gabriel put the whammy on him, it looked like a power very similar to Blue's actually.” I glanced over at the beautiful Aztec god.
“Tell me what he did.” Blue leaned forward, his heavy, shoulder-length hair falling in a straight line around his strong jaw. His jade green eyes were intent on mine.
“No, first tell me,” Azrael interrupted. “Are you sure it was Gabriel?”
“I'm certain, Az,” I glanced at him and then back at Blue. “The captain refused and Gabriel fixed him with a look and told him he'd do it for God and Country. Then the captain repeated it like a zombie: For God and Country.”
“Sounds similar to my mental abilities,” Blue nodded, “though I don't need to use speech.”
“Because you're bad ass,” I gave Blue a quick wink and he preened a little.
“Gabriel is God's messenger,” Azrael sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He suddenly looked older. “Speech, the power of words, belong to him. It's his greatest magic.”
“Can it be used against another god?” I hadn't even thought of it as a weapon.
“Absolutely,” Azrael nodded. “To great effect.”
“Why have we ignored the biggest question here?” Hades frowned over his tinted glasses.
“What's that?” I caught a glint of fire behind Hades' shades and for the first time, I was disappointed that he had those fiery eyes covered. I guess being the Queen of Fire can change your perspective a bit.
“Is it the Christian God behind this?” Hades spread his hands out, palms up, in a questioning gesture.
“Jerry,” I said automatically.
“What was that?” Hades lifted one perfect dark brow at me, his head cocked, one hand set to his chin, looking ready for a photo shoot.
“Jerry,” Trevor sighed. “The Christian God is named Jerry.”
“You're joking,” Brahma stroked his close-cropped beard with a fascinated glint in his eyes.
“His name is Jerry, it's short for Jehova,” Azrael groaned. “Why does everyone think it's funny?”
“Because it's deliciously ridiculous,” Mrs. E grinned at me and I gave a little laugh. It was good to have her light-hearted nature back.
“It's just a name,” Azrael shook his head.
“Alright, Azrael, Archangel of Death,” I droned sarcastically.
“Vervain, please,” Thor looked about as disturbed as Trevor was by the banter. “I sense the urgency here.”
“Yes, you're right,” I shook my head. “I'm sorry, it's been a weird day.”
“Tima had to go undervater today,” Kirill explained. “Give her a breaking.”
“A break,” I whispered theatrically to Kirill. “Give me a break.” He just winked back at me, leaving me to wonder if he'd taken up Roarke's habit of saying the wrong thing on purpose.
“Oh, give me a break,” Horus huffed. “Tell us the rest of it.”
“There is no more,” I shrugged. “Torrent killed their operating systems, so the ship was unable to use the sonar but that's not an end to this, I'm sure whatever Gabriel's agenda is, one ship won't discourage him away from it.”
“No, Gabriel is very tenacious,” Azrael hadn't stopped frowning. “I just can't imagine Jerry doing this. He's a royal asshole but this? This could kill more than the Holocaust. It could wipe out the merfolk entirely.”
“And the whales,” I added. “And dolphins, sharks, etc. This is huge.”
“You said it's whale watching season,” Trevor noted. “When is that exactly?”
“December to May,” I looked over his expression and came to my own conclusion. “This was done on purpose. They want to kill the whales as well, they're not just accidental casualties. Why? Can gods take the energy of animals? Oh, scratch that, I'm such an idiot, of course you can. I've just been so focused on saving humanity, I've forgotten about animal sacrifice.”
“Not just animal sacrifice,” Ull looked around the table seriously. “What about the uproar this will cause among the humans? There are a lot of people who will not sit idly by while the Navy kills marine life so carelessly.”
“That's a good point,” Trevor nodded. “This could branch off into all sorts of complications.”
“I don't think this is about the whales exactly. Though I do concede that there would
be conflict over them,” Azrael mused. “I think the whales are a distraction. It's easier to hide the bodies of merfolk among whales.”
“Right,” Karni Mata nodded, “a bunch of dead mermaids is not the best publicity for a god.”
“Especially Jerry,” Azrael noted. “It makes no sense.”
“Sure it does,” I cast him a disbelieving look. Why was he sticking up for Jerry? “You told me yourself that he's not as powerful as Luke. Maybe he wants more magic.”
“Not as powerful as who?” Persephone asked.
“Lucifer,” I answered absently, “Luke for short.”
“Luke's more powerful than Jerry?” Persephone seemed to think about it. “Okay, I can see that, but don't people light candles for Jerry and stuff?”
“The only candle lighters in the Christ faith are Catholics and they generally pray to angels first.” Teharon surprised us all by saying. “What?” He looked around. “I know about other religions. Jerry wouldn't be getting much energy from the occasional candle either.”
“Yeah, angels interact with humans,” Az nodded with approval. “We tend to get more offered energy that way.”
“It doesn't even matter anymore,” Brighid sighed. “Don't we all have enough?”
I liked her even more for that. She was a perfect match for Thor, that was one of the first things he'd said to me about the God War over humans. They all had enough energy and trying to get more was just greedy.
“Some gods have to share their energy,” Trevor said softly and I reached over and took his hand. “The Froekn just had a fertility scare because their magic was stretched too thin.”
“I'm so sorry,” Brighid offered. “Is it fixed now?”
“Yes, thanks to Vervain,” Trevor gave me a proud smile.
“But Jerry doesn't have that problem,” Azrael continued. “He hasn't even shown an interest in anything other than sacred wine for years. Hundreds of years. Why would he all of a sudden decide to send out Gabriel to kill mermaids?”
“Merfolk,” Torrent piped up.
“Whatever,” we all groaned.
“Perhaps it's not Jerry at all,” Thor offered. “Who else could command an archangel?”
“No one,” Azrael said quietly. “No one except my father.”
We all looked at him in shock.
“Did you just accuse your own father?” Persephone gasped.
“His father is the Devil, Bunny-Nose,” Hades whispered to her.
“Hades,” I chastised, “shame on you. You of all people should know that Luke being the Devil has nothing to do with who he really is.”
“You're right,” Hades looked to Azrael. “My deepest apologies.”
“It's alright,” Azrael shrugged. “I'm the one who brought it up, but no, I'm not accusing Dad. I know he didn't do this. He has even less reason than Jerry. I was just being honest and telling you who else could control angels.”
“But, Az,” I leaned forward so I could see him better. “Gabriel wouldn't take orders from your father.”
“I know,” he nodded. “There's no one else though.”
“You're all idiots,” Horus sighed dramatically. “Have none of you considered that the angel may be acting on his own behalf?”
“Is that possible?” I looked to Azrael.
“Technically, yes,” Az frowned harder, “and if it were any other angel, I would agree in a heartbeat.”
“But?” Trevor prompted.
“But this is Gabriel we're talking about,” Az looked around the table. “His loyalty to Jerry has been proven over and over again. It's unquestionable. He's like that little dog that always follows the big dog around.”
“Chester,” I said sagely.
“What?” Thor frowned at me.
“Really, Vervain,” Horus sighed, “sometimes the babble that fills the holes in your speech can be quite insane.”
“The little dog's name is Chester,” I stuck my tongue out at Horus and was rewarded with a brief twitch of his lips. “It's from Sylvester and Tweety. The little dog is always suggesting things to do and the big dog, named Spike, slaps him every time, like some mafia goombah, until Chester suggests going to beat up a cat, namely Sylvester. Then Spike is suddenly interested. It's kind of horrible except Sylvester always gets away.”
“Sylvester the cat?” Sephy asked, her green eyes gone round.
“It's a cartoon,” I looked around the table, “for children.”
“Humans teach their children to beat up cats?” Brighid lifted a brow.
“No, it actually teaches them not to pick on cats, er, people because bullies never win,” I waved my hands, “but never mind. We need to get more information on this. Azrael, is there anything you can do?”
“I'll keep my eyes open but Gabriel spends most of his time in the Seventh Heaven, a territory where I'm not well regarded since it's where Jerry lives.”
“Seventh Heaven?” I looked over at him. “There are seven? Also, that's where that saying comes from. I've often wondered.”
“Yes, seven,” Az shook his head. “I rule absolute in Shehaquim but Araboth is governed by Cassiel, another angel very loyal to Jerry. I'd be under close scrutiny there.”
“Alright,” I sighed. “Does anyone have any other ideas?”
“I'll keep an eye on the naval ships,” Kanaloa offered. “If any of them leave port, I'll follow them and make sure they don't activate their sonar.”
“How can you do that from below the surface?” Pan asked.
“The sonar device has to be lowered into the water prior to use,” Kanaloa shrugged. “If they lower it, I'll find a way to prevent the signal.”
“You mean you'll tear it to pieces,” Pan gave Kanaloa a gleeful grin.
“Exactly,” Kanaloa grinned back.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
We decided there was nothing else to do but wait and gather information, as is often the case. Azrael was going to be the most important part of the information gathering. Though with his limited access to the other heavens, I wasn't sure how much he was going to accomplish. It was pretty disheartening but at least we were aware of the situation and could stop some of the sonar blasts. I say some because obviously Pearl Harbor is not the only naval base in the world and we had no idea how many other ships Gabriel had taken over.
Kanaloa said he'd speak to the merfolk and have them keep an eye out on the other bases but he didn't want them too close because they weren't immortal like him and the whole point was to keep them safe. I had a feeling that they would view it a little differently though. When the lives of your family are at stake, you'll do whatever it takes to protect them and I don't believe for one second that that's a trait limited to us land walkers.
Hopefully soon we'd have a better handle on it all but I had to let it go and get some sleep. I crawled into bed between Kirill and Trevor, my body languid with exhaustion. I may have super healing abilities now but swimming for hours before infiltrating a Navy ship and averting disaster will make anyone tired, even a triple trinity whatever I was.
I fell asleep rather quickly, despite my worry for the merfolk and Azrael. My mind just simply couldn't handle anymore and shut down. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to get a break right away. Instead, the dark blankness of sleep was lightened by an image I didn't want to let go of.
“Odin,” I reached for him but just like in my last dream, he pulled back.
“Vervain,” he smiled gently. “You must know by now that this is as it should be. You needed to live and I was content to die for you.”
“But I'm not content with you dead,” I gave him my stubborn face. “You think you get to pull me back from the grave and I don't get to do the same for you? Nah-uh, not happening. You don't get to martyr yourself and just haunt my dreams telling me stupid shit about how happy you are in the Void.”
“It's not stupid shit,” his lips twitched a little at the corners. “I wasn't risking my life to pull you out of the well. You will be doing just that if yo
u want to bring me back.”
“You gave up an eye, Odin,” I took a baby step closer to him. “And besides, Lucifer is teaching me how to navigate the Void safely. I'm not just jumping in half-cocked.”
“For once,” he grimaced. “So you get here and you find me, then what? How do you propose to bring me back?”
“I haven't got that all worked out yet,” I grimaced right back at him. “But Vidar is translating your book for me, the one you got from Mimir. I'm confident that it will tell me how to do it.”
“Oh, it will,” Odin shook his head. “You'll have to put me in a womb, just as I did for you, and hopefully you won't lose me. Hopefully you'll find me again someday before I die because I'll be born mortal.”
“I'll figure it out,” another baby step closer to him. “Have a little faith in me.”
“Vervain, I've always believed in you, even before you were you. I have every faith in you... that you'll do the right thing and leave me here.”
“Fuck you, Odin,” I reached out to grab him but my hand just went right through him and he stared at me sadly, as if it were proof that I would fail. “I'm coming for you and I'm bringing you back, so you better just get used to the idea.”
“Why can't you simply take your own advice and wait?” Odin remained calm in the face of my anger, which just pissed me off more. “Remember how we travel around the circle? I'll come back to you on my own.”
“Maybe, someday,” I growled. “It would be almost impossible to find you like that and as you just said, you'd be mortal.”
“I waited five-hundred years for you, you've barely given me one.”
“I've what? Oh now you're going to get it,” I stuck my finger in his face. “I'm bringing you back just so I can kick your ass!”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I stood in front of Pride Palace, looking at the designs I'd sketched out. Behind me was a gathering of my god friends, the Intare, and even the Froekn, all come out to see what I could do with a little creativity and a lot of magic. Luke was also behind me, though a bit closer than the others, looking over my shoulder while he made thoughtful noises. I glanced back at him and smiled into his sparkling eyes, he was obviously excited to see what was possible without limitations.