Fortune's Favors

by Marlene Perez

  A gust of angry wind knocked me off my feet and I struggled to get up again. I was dragged along the ground, but grabbed ahold of the building’s ledge and clung. The wind howled in my ears as I tried to think, hitting on and discarding spells. I tried fire, but he summoned a downpour and put it out.

  I sent a fireball his way while Rebecca lobbed a trash can at his head. I was desperate enough to try to remove the air around him. No air, no wind god. I wasn’t sure if the spell would remove the air near us, too. I filled my lungs.

  The spell was complicated. As I started to utter the words, Boreas caught on to what I was doing and sent a gale-force wind my way. Rebecca did her best to block the worst of it, but I was pelted with a two-by-four, a street sign, and a city trash can.

  It felt as though my face was going to be ripped off, but I clung to the edge of the roof as I spit out the last words of the spell. Boreas fell out of the sky and the wind died.

  My lungs burned. I gasped for air until fresh oxygen hit my system. I crawled to the center of the roof. The storm had ended, but we were wet and shivering. The water was ankle high and seeped into my Doc Martens.

  “Are you okay?” I panted. “Your arm?”

  “I’m okay,” she said. She winced as she put her arm back into the sling. “Holy shit, that was some storm.” Her lip was bleeding and two enormous bruises dotted her cheeks. “Good work stopping it,” she added.

  “Thanks for running interference,” I said. “Let’s go!”

  Our shoes made a squelching sound as we ran. Outside, the building next to Eternity Road had been flattened, reduced to toothpicks by the twister. Broken glass littered the sidewalk.

  There was a painful scrape on my leg from where I’d been dragged. I limped as I led the way to my car. The wards had held, but a large tree branch blocked the road. I pushed it out of the way, using a combination of magic and body strength.

  The Caddy was covered in debris, but most of it was small enough that Rebecca and I cleared it away.

  As I drove across town, I saw downed power lines, flooded roads, and wrecked cars.

  “Can’t you drive any faster?” Rebecca snapped.

  “If I wreck the Caddy, we won’t get there any quicker,” I said. I clicked on the radio and searched for the news. It wasn’t good.

  The Stone Arch Bridge had been blown apart. At least three people had died, and more were missing.

  “Hurry,” Rebecca urged. “The aunts always work late. They might still be in the building.”

  As powerful as they were, the Fates were not invincible.

  “Someone from the House of Zeus had to be involved,” I said. I clutched the steering wheel tightly.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Boreas had help,” I said. “Luke warned me that Johnny couldn’t be trusted.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything,” she said.

  “Unless it does,” I replied. “Although all the wind gods are from the House of Zeus.”

  “You can’t think Johnny had anything to do with this?” I stared at my sister. There had been a strange note her in voice.

  “You can’t be in love with him already,” I said.

  “Of course not,” she said. “But Johnny and I are old friends.”

  The information surprised me. “You two knew each other before?”

  She nodded. “In college.” The news that my sister went to college surprised me almost as much as her relationship with Johnny.

  “Old friend, huh? Tell me the truth, Rebecca,” I said. “It’s important.”

  “I may have some feelings for him,” she said.

  I wanted to shout at her not to be stupid, that of course he couldn’t be trusted, but not that long ago, I’d told her to go for it. I’d gotten soft since I’d stopped running. And romance wasn’t my forte, anyway.

  “And if he did betray us?”

  “Then he’s dead.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I changed the subject. “We’re here.”

  “Park near the loading dock,” she ordered.

  I threw a quick ward over the Caddy after we exited. Rebecca ran for the building while I followed at a slower pace.

  Buildings all over Nicollet had been obliterated. The wooden structures were in pieces, turned into toothpicks for the gods. Cars were scattered, upside down and sideways, like an enormous petulant child had a tantrum and thrown his toys.

  Naomi’s bad omen had come true. Death and destruction were everywhere. And I had brought it to Minneapolis.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Despite magical wards that should stop a hurricane, even Parsi Enterprises had taken a hit. Half of the building had been blown away.

  The windows in the lobby were shattered. Rebecca and I paused long enough to take in the damage. There was the trunk of a bur oak tree blocking the stairwell. It must have been at least forty foot tall when upright.

  “Can we move it?” she asked.

  “Not without help,” I said.

  “Good thing we’re here, then,” Talbot said.

  I turned around. Claire, Naomi, and Talbot stood there. “I thought I told you guys to head to safety.”

  “I got my dad out,” Talbot said. “He’s already organizing supplies.”

  “We need to check on Hecate in the basement,” I said. “And then see if we can find anyone in the building.”

  Naomi blanched. “Mom was working late.”

  “We’ll find her,” Talbot soothed. “Maybe she’s already home. Call her cell.”

  Naomi’s expression was blank as she surveyed the devastation of her family business.

  Hecate had won. The fates had fallen and it was my fault.

  “It isn’t your fault,” Talbot said.

  “Quit doing that,” I said.

  “What?”

  “Trying to read my mind. That’s not what I was thinking,” I lied.

  Naomi dialed her mother’s number. “Voice mail.”

  “Keep trying,” Talbot said. “It’s late. Maybe she already went to bed.”

  With the extra help and magical assistance, we were able to move the tree.

  “We need to split up,” I said. “Look for survivors. I’ll take the basement.” I was certain Hecate had escaped, but I wanted to be sure.

  Naomi let out a little sob at the word, but Claire didn’t show any emotion.

  “Naomi can go with Nyx,” Talbot said.

  Naomi shot him a hurt look, but he ignored it. If the aunts were upstairs, they might not be alive, and Talbot didn’t want Naomi to be the one to find the bodies.

  “Naomi can come with me,” I said.

  “Claire can go with Talbot,” Rebecca said. “I’m fine on my own.”

  “No,” I said sharply. “Nobody goes alone.”

  My sister gave me a look, which I matched. Finally, she looked away. I’d won the staring contest. “I guess it won’t hurt to tag along with Claire and Talbot.”

  “Where did they put Hecate?” Naomi asked.

  “We’re headed there now,” I said.

  “Where are Mom and Aunt Morta?” Naomi fretted.

  “Maybe they went to the basement when the tornado siren sounded,” I said.

  From deep in the bowels of what was left of the building, I heard a bone-chilling scream.

  “We have another problem,” I said. “The menagerie is loose.”

  I didn’t have to remind her that there were some very dangerous magical creatures roaming through Parsi Enterprises. The lights were off in the basement. The only sound was the drip, drip, drip of water, probably coming from a busted pipe.

  “Illuminate,” I said. A ball of light appeared and gave enough light to see in front of us.

  Naomi moved closer to me. “There’s something waiting in the shadows.”

  “There always is,” I replied. “Naomi, stay here. I’m going to check out the cages.”

  “You’re not going anywhere without me,” she said. “Nobody goes anywhere alone, rememb
er?”

  I picked through the rubble. The building had been destroyed by someone who knew how to remove magical wards. There was a trail of blood and gore leading away from the lamia’s cage, but it was Hecate that concerned me.

  The room was empty. Someone had released her from her prison while Boreas whipped up the tornado.

  Next, we checked the room that housed Medusa. She was gone. The mirror had fallen off the wall during the tornado and lay on the floor.

  I grabbed it without looking into it and slipped it inside my jacket.

  The menagerie was on the loose and they were almost as dangerous as Hecate.

  “Hecate’s gone,” Naomi said. “We need to look for Mom. She might be in her office, trapped.”

  We headed for the main office. Trevor, the receptionist, was facedown in the lobby. The back of his head had been bashed in and brain matter leaked out of his shattered skull.

  Naomi choked back a sob.

  We headed for the executive offices. Nona wasn’t in her office. I saw the growing panic on Naomi’s face. “Maybe the others already found her,” I said.

  We checked on Morta next. The desk was upside down, but no Morta.

  A pair of golden scissors lay on the floor, abandoned. Morta was lying motionless next to them.

  Hecate stood over her. Her head whipped around when we entered.

  “What did you do to her?”

  She gave me a vicious smile. “Now you know what I needed your blood for, son of Fortuna.”

  “You used my blood to hurt my aunt?”

  “The spell called for the blood of Hades, but it turns out his son’s works just as well. You were twice warned, son of Fortuna,” she said. “You ignored the warnings. The Fates have fallen.”

  I ran toward her and fumbled for my athame. I stabbed my palm and coated the blade in my blood. “Maybe it’ll do the trick for you, too.” I aimed for the heart, but only succeeded in a glancing blow, enough that black blood dripped from her shoulder.

  She screamed. “Boreas!” The wind god blew into the room and swept her up into his arms. Her long dark hair settled over her like a shroud before they both disappeared.

  Naomi and I stared at each other, stunned.

  She ran to Morta and looked for a pulse. “She’s still breathing, but she’s pretty badly injured. Can you try a healing spell?”

  “I’ll try,” I said. Blood was everywhere. Even as I said the words of the spell, I could feel Morta’s life slipping away.

  “We need to find your mother,” I said. Nona would know what to do.

  Naomi picked up Morta’s scissors. “I’ll keep these safe for her.”

  There was a low groan from the hallway. Nona leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

  “Mom, I’ve been calling you and calling you,” Naomi said. “Are you okay?” She was trying and failing to keep the panic from her voice.

  “I’m not injured,” Nona said. She sounded dazed, though, and there was a purple bruise already forming on her forehead. “Where is Morta?”

  Naomi and I exchanged glances.

  Nona’s gaze sharpened. “She’s dead. That’s why Naomi has the scissors.”

  “You don’t know that. Morta was still breathing a second ago.” Why was Nona so calm?

  “I do,” Nona said. “Her scissors would never have left her hands otherwise.”

  “She loaned them to me once,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, loaned,” Nona emphasized. “Never abandoned. And she only loaned them to you to trick Gaston.”

  “We should still try,” I said. “Call nine-one-one.”

  Nona shook her head and a tear splashed. “It’s too late. My sister is dead.”

  The scissors vibrated in Naomi’s hands and then disappeared. “What just happened?”

  “You have taken Morta’s place. You are the new Atropos,” her mother said. “From now on, you will cut the thread of Fate.”

  Naomi shook her head. “No,” she said. “No.”

  “Naomi, your aunt would be proud that you are following in her footsteps.”

  “But I’m supposed to follow in your footsteps,” she replied. “Like you wanted.”

  I gave her a questioning look, and she corrected herself. “Like we wanted.”

  “I need to see if I can get some of the beasts back into the cages,” I said.

  “You can’t go alone,” Naomi protested.

  “You have to stay here with your mom,” I said.

  “Nyx, danger,” Sawyer’s voice sounded in my ear. I broke into a run.

  Rebecca and Claire were walking toward us. They were near the receptionist area when I noticed a dark figure behind Claire. The lamia advanced, fangs already extended.

  “Claire, look out,” I cried. But the lamia was already on her. She’d escaped from the basement prison and wanted revenge.

  I strained to keep her sharp teeth away from Claire’s neck. Naomi sent a spell over, but it didn’t even slow the lamia down. Rebecca tried to pull the lamia away, but the vampire threw her across the room.

  I had seconds to decide: heart or head. I drove my athame into the lamia’s neck, but she didn’t stop. Her long fangs pushed closer to Claire’s skin. The smell of her breath was intense, dry with despair, hot with longing.

  I grunted and struck again. This time I separated her neck from her shoulders. I leaned against the wall and tried to breathe.

  “Are you okay?” Naomi asked.

  “Not even a scratch, thanks to Nyx,” Claire replied.

  “Nyx?”

  I nodded, still short of breath.

  “What else is on the loose?” Naomi asked her mother.

  “Everything,” Nona replied. “We need to be extremely careful.”

  “Can we get them back into their cages?”

  She shook her head. “Doubtful. It took all three of us for most of them. And as you can see, I’m the last Fate standing. The girls aren’t ready.”

  “I’m ready,” Rebecca said.

  “Me, too,” Claire said.

  “Ready or not, here I come,” Naomi told her mom.

  We helped Nona to her feet. “I must check on one of our guests,” she said.

  I shook my head. “Hecate is gone.”

  “Not Hecate,” she said. “I must go alone.”

  We argued with her, but she wouldn’t budge.

  “Naomi and I will go with you,” I said. “We’ll wait outside. You have five minutes. If you’re not out by then, we’re coming in.”

  She headed for the cage the Fates had warned me away from on my first visit to the menagerie.

  The wards were gone and the round wooden door had been blown off and lay on the floor several feet away. The salt was scattered to the winds.

  The door had a thick iron dead bolt on it and salt encircled the door. The garlands had been shredded and the ancient runes written on the wall were broken.

  “It’s long gone,” I said. “Whatever it is.”

  “A basilisk,” Nona replied. “And it hasn’t left.”

  Naomi repressed a gasp. “They can kill with a glance.”

  “I’m aware,” Nona said dryly. “I have the most experience with this creature.” She gave Naomi a brief kiss on the cheek. “See you in five minutes.”

  We waited, but Nona never came out.

  “Stay here,” I said.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “Stay here,” I said again. “Something’s wrong.”

  Inside the cage, it was dark, but I could see Nona’s prone form. She’d been stunned by its glance or maybe by poisonous venom.

  The basilisk hissed once. I threw my athame without looking, using the sound as my guide.

  It struck the basilisk, who hissed again, this time with pain, but it wasn’t down.

  I tried again with a spell.

  There was a thud as it dropped, but the floor was sticky with its venom. If any of it had absorbed into Nona’s skin, it would be too late to save her.

&nbs
p; I stuck my head out. “Naomi, I need towels, blankets, cloth, anything you can find.”

  She nodded once and then took off at a run.

  I returned to Nona’s side.

  “Nona, are you okay?”

  She tried to move and let out a moan. “What happened?”

  “I’m not sure,” I replied carefully. “Is the floor dry around you?”

  It wasn’t easy to fool my aunt. She caught on right away. “The venom,” she said. “It’s all over my skin.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  “Naomi is getting towels,” I said. “We’ll get the venom off your skin. There’s still time.”

  We both knew I was lying.

  “My sister was wrong, you know,” Nona said.

  “Wrong about what?”

  “Your kind heart isn’t your greatest weakness. It’s your greatest strength.”

  “That’s not how I see it.”

  “You will,” she said softly.

  “If you say so,” I said.

  “I did it for her,” Nona said.

  I thought she was talking about Naomi. “She knows you love her.”

  She shook her head. “I wronged my sister, but I have tried to right the wrong. Forgive me, son of Fortuna, for her sake.”

  “Nona, I…” I trailed off. I didn’t know what to say to her. Pictures of my mother flooded my mind: the joy on her face as she danced with the naiads under the summer moon; her grave expression when she gave me my father’s athame; and finally, the pain in her eyes as she lay dying, stabbed by her own dagger.

  Still, the reborn, sober Nyx was trying on something new: forgiveness.

  “I forgive you,” I said. “I hate to leave you, but I’ll be right back.”

  She bit back a sob. “I’ll be here.”

  I rubbed a garland of white flowers all over my skin. They were supposed to protect from basilisk poison. Naomi came back with two blankets.

  “I broke into the emergency supplies,” she said. “Where’s my mom?”

  I handed her a garland that had managed to stay intact. “Rub this all over your skin,” I said. “I’ll carry her out.”

  I picked Nona up. She was already burning up from the poison.

  I took her into the hallway and placed her gently on the blankets.

  It was a slow death. Naomi held her mother’s right hand. I held the left. There was no sound except Nona’s breathing as it slowed.