by Renee George
"You've had ample time. Don't tell me you haven't."
"Oh. Uhm, yes, we...you know, did it." Don't make me regret inviting you, Pepper. Ten minutes," she demanded. "In the Infinity Room." The hang up on her end was hard enough that I jerked the phone away from my ear.
I glanced at Monty.
"What was that about?" he asked.
"Get dressed," I said. The Divinus Paradiso was about to bring us into their inner fold, which meant, any talk about what had just transpired between us had to be tabled for a later date. "We've been summoned."
Chapter Nine
We swiped our room card in the elevator and pressed the button with the infinity symbol on it. The awkward silence as we rode the slow ass elevator to the Infinity floor proved too much for me to handle. "Nothing to hear," I said. "How did you get a message to Brita that we needed help?" Calls could be monitored, and he couldn't have apparated out without the cult being alerted.
"I put two candles on the balcony."
"Really?"
"One candle is all is well. Two candles mean urgent need, but use stealth."
"And what would three imply?"
"Send the whole fucking cavalry," he said. "The townhouse they are staying at has a direct line to the balcony of the Honeymoon Suite. She and Cas have been monitoring the place since before the wedding. All she had to do was pop them down the street from the resort, walk in, distract one of the guests, and take their place."
"Marlow was random?"
He shrugged. "I'm sure Marlow saw a handsome couple and made herself an easy mark."
Another thought occurred to me. I'd drank the water and activated the death curse but was the person who crafted the spell aware that it had been dispatched. "If one of the Divinus Paradiso cast that deadly magic on our water bottles, will they know that it was triggered? And if they don't, that might give us some leverage to work with. We can invite the group to our suite tomorrow afternoon for a cocktail and pull out the water bottles to mix the drinks. Whoever turns it down, that would be suspicious, right?"
"Unless the hex had been targeted at you."
"But I'm not me," I said, looking at Pepper's reflection in the mirrored sides of the elevator car. "It couldn't have been directed at me."
"You used Pepper's DNA to create the spell. Maybe even that little bit could have been enough." There was a tension around his eyes. "Besides, I don't think we should open the bottles. What if even the tiniest evaporation in the air near you sparks the curse?"
I hadn't thought of any of that. "Fine. You win."
"It isn't a contest," Monty said. "You almost died." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at me. "And, are we going to talk about what happened in the room, specifically in bed, before the phone call?"
"We are not," I said. "Not now. We have a big task ahead of us, and I can't be at my best if I'm caught up in non-work-related drama. So, can we just put a pin in it for a few days? We'll have plenty of time to discuss this after." Like when we sign the divorce papers. Gah. It dawned on me after the call that we were no longer looking at a simple annulment. We'd had sex. On our wedding night. And no matter whose body I was in at the time, it was still magically and officially binding. Fuuuudge. I couldn't afford to worry about this now, but, unfortunately, it wouldn't stop playing in my brain.
"Fine," Monty agreed. "But after, we will talk about it."
I didn't like the way he said we'd talk, but instead of making a thing about it, I changed the subject. "What do you think this who initiation is going to be like? I know I joked about paddles before, but I seriously don't want to get spanked."
"I'm not sure. Pepper was surprisingly hard to crack. She wouldn't give anything away about the Divinus Paradiso."
"If she wasn't initiated, yet, maybe she didn't know what would happen after the wedding. Some people will really jump through some messed up hoops if they are promised a lot of power."
"My mother," he said. "She gave up her entire standing in our community for a power grab." He shook his head. "She said she did it for me. For our family."
"What do you think?"
"I think I'd rather have been an orphan."
"It's not all sunshine and roses at the children's home for unwanted witches, trust me." The sadness I'd experienced earlier crept back in. "I would have given anything to know who my parents were. If for no other reason than to tell them to suck it."
Monty smiled. "I wish I would have told my mom to suck it."
"She still alive, so there is still time." The buttons on the elevator had stopped lighting up, but we still hadn't reached the Infinity floor. "Just how far up does this elevator go?"
Monty pressed the infinity button again. Nothing happened. He pushed all the other numbers. The elevator still felt like it was moving in an upward direction.
"Try the emergency stop."
He pulled the red knob. There was no change.
"Where ever this elevator is taking us, we are just going to have to ride it out," Monty said.
"I don't like this," I said, feeling itchy. "I hate going into a situation without any intelligence."
"You are one of the only people I'd go into an unknown situation with," Monty said.
I glanced up at him. "Really?"
"Who do you think put your name forward for a team leader position. I knew you'd make a hell of an agent. You have a keen mind, and you're quick and decisive when it comes to taking action. I couldn't think of a better person to face this mission with."
"If I didn't know better, I might think you like me."
"You don't know better," he said. "That's been pretty obvious."
"What--"
He held up a hand. "We aren't talking about it until the job is done. Remember?"
I sighed. "Fine. But did you request me for the job?"
"No," he answered honestly. "The Council didn't ask my opinion, but if they had, I probably would have put up your name."
I nodded and let that sink in. "I know Pepper Rain was a job but did you ever--"
He stared down at me and said, "After the job."
I harrumphed right about the time that the elevator dinged. "Release," I said as the doors opened. Stars flooded our view like a clear night in the desert. Only, there was no ground, no hills, no trees, no ocean, only sky above, below, and around, as if it stretched on forever. For infinity. I hesitantly placed a foot outside the elevator, and my foot found solid purchase. I moved entirely outside the elevator and had to steady myself as the stars came to life beneath me. "Wowza." The door closed as Monty took my hand and stood beside me. I turned to look, and space now populated the area where our transportation had once been. I swung my free hand back, and it landed on the door.
Ah, it was an illusion. The view around us was meant for shock and awe, and while it didn't disappoint, it wasn't real. Monty gripped my hand tighter.
"Move into the circle, our celestial sister and brother," a disembodied voice intoned. A circled of clustered stars formed about ten feet in front of us.
Monty and I moved cautiously toward it. Together, we each stepped inside. I gave him a look that said, "What next?" He gave me one back that told me my guess was as good as his.
With all the drama of a quick-change artist, twenty-two sets of star clusters began to twirl just outside the circle and were replaced by the masked figures from earlier. All but their feet were exposed, which made me think they'd been wearing reflective robes of some kind that were now bunched up around their ankles. Why all the parlor tricks? The show was impressive, but why would they bother? Unless this was all part of the ritual. The blonde with the ram mask, who I was sure was Doyle's Libby, held her hands up. In one was a small sickle, the other a compass.
I didn't like being in the same room with someone who had a weapon, but since the odds were not in mine or Monty's favor, I would have to roll with it.
"We are of the Goddess. The Chosen. Divine by right. We welcome you into the twelve. Each feminine and masculi
ne, now made perfect and complete. Pepper and Monty, do you accept our magic as we gift it freely?"
Again, Monty and I exchanged looks. He nodded.
"Yes," I said. "We accept."
"Shed your worldly skins," she ordered. When I gave her an odd look, her mouth thinned into a grim line. "Take your clothes off," she clarified.
Crap. This was a sex cult. I thought about making a break for it, but Monty had already stripped off his shirt, kicked his shoes off, and was shimmying out of his pants. My eyes bugged as he dropped his underwear last. I knew he was well-endowed for a warlock, well, for any man, really, but the general murmur of appreciation among the other witches and some of the warlocks, made me want to scratch some eyeballs out.
Fine. If Monty could do it, then so could I. The mission and all that good junk. We had humans and witchkind to save, after all. I wore a buttoned-up pink sundress that I could have yanked over my head in two seconds, but I chose the long route, unbuttoning each and every pearly button slowly and meticulously. A cough and a throat clearing made me pick up speed through the last three. My dress opened like a robe, and I let the straps slide down my shoulder as it fell to the floor behind me. I was thankful I'd brought at least one matching pair of underwear and bra. They were white, and not at all super sexy, but they weren’t my usual made-for-combat type either. The bra had thin straps, a deep-v plunge, and a little extra padding to push up Pepper's already perky boobs, and the bottoms were cut bikini-style. Comfortable, but still feminine. And I felt entirely exposed in front of this room full of masked perverts.
The blonde glared and gestured for me to hurry up with a small twirl of the sickle. I slipped off my sandals first, then reluctantly unhooked the clasp at the front of my bra, dropping it in the same way I had the dress.
Monty angled his body in front of me, offering me some semblance of privacy where there was absolutely none. I draped one arm across my breasts while I used my free hand to work my underwear down my thigh.
Another murmur of appreciation rippled around us. Great.
"Come forth tributes and bow to your masters." The woman clicked the sickle against the compass.
Like rats scurrying from their holes, what must have been a hundred or so more people stepped out of the darkness from all directions. They were white like the witches and warlocks, but I was pretty sure we'd just found our human sacrifices.
They dropped to their knees behind the cult members, bowing low in prostration.
"Divine Constelatio," Libby said. "Make us worthy!"
"Make us worthy," the humans repeated. "Make us worthy."
"Tonight, we will accept your sacrifice and bring forth Cronus and receive his gift."
"Receive his gift," the humans repeated. "Receive his gift."
"Tonight?"
Monty grabbed my hand again, a sizzle of magic passed between us. He was as alarmed as I was. Crap. Crap. Crap. The ritual wasn't tomorrow night. It was now. And the humans were about to be cult kibble.
Chapter Ten
One by one, each of the cult members dropped their gauzy robes to the ground.
Doyle, the other Aries and Libby's partner, approached Monty and me. He held two masks in his hand. They were plain white with an M with a ribbon leg etched into the outer edges. The Virgo symbol.
He tied the mask around Monty's face first and then kissed him on the cheek. "Welcome, Brother," he said.
Next, he led me a few feet away and tied the mask around my face. He stood closer to me than he had Monty, and his dangling sword brushed my thigh. Twice. Gag.
He leaned in as if to kiss my cheek and said, "when time is ours, we will finally have our moment."
"What is this place?" I kept my voice as quiet as his.
"A show for the worshippers, of course. It makes it easier for them to die willingly for the cause if they think we'll ascend them to a better place. I thought I told you about it."
"Right. Right. You said we'd celebrate tomorrow night," I hissed.
"Yes," he agreed so quietly I could barely hear him. "After I take power, we will have all the time in the world."
Goddess all mighty. I'd misread his earlier words, and not only had I been wrong about the timing of the ritual, but I'd also been mistaken about his character. "When this is over, I promise you a reward you will never forget." And one you will live to regret, I added mentally.
"Join the circle, Brother and sister, as we raise the Scythe of Cronus."
That was the second time they'd mentioned Cronus. I had not been great at mythological studies in school, but I seemed to recall Cronus as one of the Greek titans. Or something like that. What was extraordinary about a scythe?
"Cronus, Cronus, Cronus," the humans chanting, their loud voices filling the room. Which meant, I didn't have to worry much about being overheard as Monty and I took the open spot among the twenty-two other witches and warlocks.
"Do you know who Cronus is?"
"Time," Monty said.
"What about time?" I asked.
"Cronus is another name for Father Time, and his scythe is supposed to control time."
Well, this was turning into a nightmare of epic-shit-show proportions. What was it that Fate had said when I asked what was at stake? Oh, yeah, nothing but time. Thanks for the heads up, lady. Gah!
"Is this seriously happening?" I whispered. All we were supposed to do was locate the humans and all the cult members, then contact the Council, and they would swoop in with their bobblehead army in tow while we got the heck out of the town, well, the resort anyhow, with the mortals. Actually, participating in the ritual, naked as the day we were born to raise Father Time and steal his giant time weed whacker was not on the agenda. The chanting grew louder, and it made me sick to my stomach.
"Cronus, we beseech thee, on this moonless night, to come to us so that we may pay tribute to your greatness. We hide nothing from you. Come to us."
"Come to us, come to us," they repeated. "Libby cut her hand with the small scythe she held. She pressed the wound over the face of the compass and then passed both items to Doyle. He sliced his hand next and repeated the process. The compass and curve blade made their way around to each cult member until it reached Monty and me.
"We can't do this," I said.
"You're not a Virgo, right?" he asked.
"I'm a Scorpio, according to one of my birth certificates, but the other says I'm a Sagittarius. Does it matter? Can we be sure it won't work just because my birth sign is wrong?"
Before he could answer, the Libra warlock to the left of me leaned over and said, "Quit yacking and get to it."
"Rude much," I replied in my best Pepper imitation. He scowled but backed off. This was stupid. So, so moronic, I thought, as I sliced my hand and placed the bleeding cut on the compass before handing it to Monty.
A weirdly warm sensation fluttered over my skin. A sheen of sweat formed on my skin. Were the stars spinning? Bile burned as it climbed my throat. Oh, Goddess, I was going to yark. "I don't feel well," I said.
Monty had just finished his part of the ritual when he looked at me. His eyes widened. "Glamour," he said.
I swooned. "What?"
"Your glamour. It's down?"
I looked at my hands, Instead, of long, carefully painted nails, they were clipped short and in need of a manicure to tame the thick cuticles. Pepper's willowy legs and arms had been replaced with my bulkier muscles. No. Goddess, how could this happen? Since I hadn't canceled the spell, it shouldn't have been suspended without a nullifier. "Beauty and fame, Pepper Rain be thy name. Looks and grace, give me her body and face," I said, incanting the glamour spell again.
Nothing happened.
Monty threw the compass down and held the sickle up as if to cut down anyone who approached. He put his arm around my shoulders.
"This isn't good," he said.
"No shit," I told him, feeling less woozy. "What was your first clue?"
"No, you don't understand. I can't apparate." He shook his
head. "I can't access my magic at all."
"The bloody freaking compass," I said. "It has to be acting as a nullifier." The cult members were now staring at us, their expressions horrified. I watched several of them try to conjure magic, and none of them could get it to work. "And we're not the only ones it affected."
A whirlwind of stars began to swirl in the circle where Monty had thrown the compass. Oh crap. The summoning was happening.
The humans, who still worshipped at our feet, hadn't gotten the memo about the shit storm headed their way, and with the cult members in the throes of panic, I looked for an escape route. "We have to get out of here."
"We can't leave the mortals, and we can't let them get their hands on the scythe!" Monty shouted as the whirlwind's roar reached a crescendo. My hair whipped around my face as the boundaries of the magical portal or whatever the hell it was extended farther out from the center. Libby screamed as she was pulled inside the vortex.
I watched Doyle get sucked in next, and when the Geminis went next, my fight or flight kicked in hard. "Move, move!" I hollered to Monty. "Now!" I shoved him, unable to get any sort of bearing for where the elevator doors had been. I just knew I didn't want him anywhere near the witch eating hurricane when it was our time.
An arm wrapped my neck, and I felt the point of a blade press into my cheek, just under the edge of my mask near my eyes. "Hold still unless you want me to blind you before your sacrifice is complete."
I recognized the voice. "Marlow?"
"You had to ruin it, didn't you, Pepper?" She pressed the tip hard enough to bite into my skin. "You always do. If you had played your part, everyone would have lost their magic to the compass, except me, of course. You all would be my ultimate sacrifice to Cronus, and he would take me for his bride. But the ritual is incomplete. And it's all your fault."
"I thought you were sacrificing the humans."
"You really are thick," Marlow said. "They will be my new worshippers when I become Goddess of Time. It's the only way for a true god to exist. And all witchkind will know my wrath when I manipulate time to make you no better than the humans."