by Amy Sumida
Everyone looked at me with amused expressions.
“That many, huh?” I sighed. “Okay; let me try this again. How many reapers would want to mess with Amaterasu?”
“Now, that's an interesting question,” Amy noted. “Those who know me wouldn't want to incite my wrath, and those who don't know me wouldn't have a reason to.”
“Why come to us?” Odin asked. “You have numerous gods who could help you.”
“I hope to keep this quiet,” she admitted. “If it gets out that a god has made a fool of me, my status in my pantheon would be questioned.”
“All right,” I said. “Let's start with some basic investigating. Can you take us to the exact location of the last suicide?”
“You're standing on it,” Amy said. “It happened just yesterday.”
I glanced at Kirill and Trevor, and they nodded. We all began to walk around the area, inhaling deeply, and searching with more than our eyes. The rest of the group stayed out of our way, and I was grateful for that. It's nice to have help, but when you're trying to concentrate, it's better to simply be left alone.
“Do you smell a horse?” I asked the other shapeshifters.
“Da,” Kirill said. “Horse and cow.”
“A bull; to be specific,” Trevor added.
Amy cursed in Japanese while Sakuya closed her eyes and shook her head sadly.
“What is it?” I asked. “Do you know who did this?”
“Ox-Head and Horse-Face,” Amy growled.
“Are you still cursing or are those gods?” I asked.
“They are demi-gods,” Amy explained. “Guardians of Jigoku.”
“Jigoku?” I asked.
“Hell,” Azrael said simply.
“Japanese Buddhist Hell,” Sakuya clarified. “Gozu and Mezu—those are the Guardians' true names—are minions of Lord Enma, God of Death.”
“The Japanese Buddhist gods sometimes clash with the Shinto,” Amy said. “The Japanese Buddhist gods have connections to Indian Buddhist gods, who are then connected to Hindu gods. The other gods of Japan don't like this religious and racial blending. We like our magic to remain pure.”
“That sounds a bit bigoted,” I noted. “I may have to start calling you 'Bellatrix.'”
“Perhaps it is bigoted,” Amy agreed—ignoring my Harry Potter reference. “But we are guardians of our magic, and I take that very seriously.”
“Thank you for your help, Godhunter,” Sakuya said.
“Oh.” I blinked in surprise. “You don't need us to go after this Enma with you?”
“No; you've helped enough.” Amy bowed to me. “I wouldn't impose on you to do something that I can do for myself. Thank you all for coming; I will not forget the debt.”
“There's no debt between friends,” I said as I reached out to shake her hand.
Amy smiled softly as she took my hand. “I am honored to be considered such and to consider you as such. Safe tracing, Vervain.”
“Goodbye, Amy,” I said.
We traced back to Pride Palace and left the goddesses to their hunt.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Is it just me, or are there a lot of trouble-making death deities running amok?” I asked as we stepped out of Pride Palace's tracing room.
“It does seem odd,” Odin said.
“Do we know anything about this Enma guy?” Trevor asked.
“Yeah; like who he may be connected to in the Hindu Pantheon,” I added.
“His counterpart is Yama,” Azrael said. “They are two separate men.”
“How do I know that name?” I wondered as we all wandered out onto the drawbridge veranda.
“Karni-Mata mentioned him once,” Kirill said. “I zink she had problem vith him.”
“Something about the rats,” Trevor said as he nodded.
“So, we get called in to consult on a case involving Yama's counterpart while someone is attempting to bring Dvārakā up from the sea, and someone else is inciting angels to attack Az.” I plopped into a large, Victorian armchair and huffed hair out of my face. “I feel like the answer is right in front of me.”
“You think it's all connected?” Ted asked.
“I don't know,” I muttered. “But it is strange timing.”
“I don't like coincidences,” Ira murmured. “I don't believe in them.”
We all nodded.
“Well, don't all of you look depressing,” Macaria exclaimed as she walked out onto the veranda.
“Mac,” Az said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought I'd come check on you,” she said. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything.”
“No; it's fine,” Azrael assured her. “Come meet my friends.” He waved to the Horsemen. “These are the other Horsemen; Sam, Ira, and Ted.”
“The Horsemen of the Apocalypse?” Macaria asked with eager eyes. “No way.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ted said as he looked Mac over with a reserved air.
“Yeah, you too,” Macaria said with a small frown. “Um; I hope you don't mind, but I brought a friend with me. This is Marzana, she's the Russian Goddess of Winter and Death. I thought you might like to talk to another death deity who doesn't get a lot of work these days.”
I was about to get angry about Mac not only showing up unannounced but with a stranger to boot, when Ted beat me to the punch.
“You brought an unknown god into another god's territory?” Ted asked with horror. “That's bad form.”
“I...” Macaria gaped from Azrael to Thaddeus. “I'm sorry, I didn't—”
“It's all right, Mac.” Az smacked Ted and gave him a quelling look. “Hello, Marzana; welcome to Pride Palace.”
“Zank you,” the Russian woman said in a thick accent; similar to Kirill's.
Marzana was very pale—nearly white—and had long, thick, ebony hair that shone like seal fur. Her eyes were dark and round like a seal's as well, and she wore a very somber expression. Despite the dismal air around her, she was delicately beautiful; the kind of woman that made men want to take care of her.
I glanced at Kirill and saw him staring at the goddess strangely. Then I looked over at Az and gave him my “I'm upset with you, but we'll talk about it later” look. He blinked at me in surprise... much as Ted was doing to him.
“Sit down, ladies,” Odin said. “Our apologies for the cold reception but it's been a very trying day, and we weren't up for receiving visitors. Perhaps next time, you could call ahead.”
“Oh, sure,” Mac stuttered. “Sorry about that. Az had said to come by whenever I wanted to, so I thought that was an open invitation.”
“He did, did he?” Odin asked as his eyes strayed to Azrael. “That's usually the type of thing we discuss as a group before making a decision about.”
“I wanted Mac to be able to come by when it suited her schedule, since mine is so open,” Azrael said. “I assumed you'd all be okay with it.”
“Your schedule isn't that open,” Trevor pointed out. “Especially not now.”
“This feels awkward,” Mac said as she stood. “We'll just come back another time.”
“No!” Azrael stood as well. “It's fine; sit down. Thank you for coming, Mac.”
“You sure?” Mac looked around at our blank faces.
“Yes, I'm sure.” Az turned and glared at us.
“Oh for Satan's sake, sit the hell down, Mac,” I huffed. “You want a drink?”
“Uh, sure.” Mac sat back down.
Marzana and Azrael followed suit.
“Anyone else?” I asked as I got up.
I took the drink orders, and Kirill went with me to help fulfill them. As soon as we were in the kitchen, I turned to him.
“What's wrong with her?” I asked.
“She's rude?” Kirill frowned as if he wasn't sure what I was asking.
“Not Mac; Marzana,” I clarified. “Why did you look at her like that? Do I need to kick her ass or yours?”
“Oh.” He looked away. “Ve vorshi
ped her.”
“Your family?” I asked in surprise.
“She is ancient goddess.” Kirill lifted his cerulean stare to mine. “Every Spring ve made effigy of her to burn and zen drown in river.”
“You burned and drowned her?” My eyes went wide. “Why?”
“Her death signaled birth of Spring.” Kirill shrugged. “It vas vhat ve did. One of zose zings you just do vithout zinking. It vas just doll.”
“I don't think I've ever done anything like that,” I mused. “Everything my mother taught me had purpose behind it, and she made sure that I understood it.”
“I lived in different time.” He smiled softly at me before gathering the requested drinks and placing them on a tray.
“That was it?” I asked as I fetched another tray and started filling it. “Marzana freaked you out because she was your family's goddess?”
“Zere vere superstitions around ritual,” Kirill murmured. “You don't touch Marzana once she's in vater. You don't look back at her vhen you valk away. And if you fall on vay home, it can be very bad.”
“Very bad?”
“Sickness, plague.” He shrugged. “Zat sort of zing.”
“Uh-huh.” I put my hand on Kirill's when he tried to lift his tray. “Kirill, I know you better than anyone alive, so don't bullshit me.”
Kirill hung his head and sighed. Then he chuckled. “All right, Vervain. One year, I looked back.”
“Yeah?” I went still. “And what happened?”
“I saw her.” He set his gaze on mine again. “Marzana; zat same voman out zere. I saw her standing in river, staring at me.”
“What?” I whispered. “That's creepy.”
“Da.” He chuckled. “It gets even creepier. She pointed at me, and I heard her whisper. She said; 'Zis life is over for you.'”
“This life is over?” I asked. “What the hell?”
“Niyarvirezi took me two months later,” he whispered. “For zose entire two months, I zought I vas going to die. I thought she had cursed me.”
“Oh fuck.” I pulled Kirill into a hug. “I'm sorry she brought that memory back for you.”
“It's okay.” He eased away enough to look at me. “I'm okay. Seeing her just reminded me, and it brought up an old question.”
“What question?”
“If she did curse me or if she knew zat Niyarvirezi vas coming for me,” he said.
“That little bitch,” I hissed and stormed out of the kitchen; leaving the drinks behind.
“Vervain,” Kirill rushed after me. “Let it be.”
“The fuck I will,” I growled.
“It doesn't matter anymore,” Kirill tried again.
“Kirill, it matters,” I stopped to say.
Kirill blinked a few times, took a deep breath, and nodded. I slid my hand around his, and we went back to the veranda together. The group had relaxed a little and had started a light conversation. I don't know what exactly they were talking about; something to do with Winter. Whatever it was, the conversation stopped when we walked up.
“What happened to the drinks?” Sam asked.
We ignored Sam and went to stand in front of Marzana. Her eyes widened when she looked up into our angry faces.
“Do you remember my husband?” I asked her casually. “Does this gorgeous face ring any bells for you?” I waved my hand at Kirill.
Marzana swallowed convulsively and looked uncomfortable.
“You do remember me,” Kirill said in surprise.
“Of course, I do,” she whispered. “You looked back; they never looked back.”
“Da,” Kirill agreed, “and you told me zat my life vas over.”
“I said 'Zis life is over for you,'” she corrected him. “Your life as Russian Prince vas finished. You had new one coming.”
“So, it vasn't because I looked back,” Kirill said. “You simply knew zat Niyarvirezi vould take me.”
“I knew,” she confirmed.
“And you didn't think to warn him?” I growled. “One of your people was in danger, and all you did was terrify him.”
“I did vhat I could,” Marzana growled. “I varned him zat his life vould change.”
“Zat's not vhat you did at all,” Kirill snapped. “You gave me vague varning; more like curse. You tortured me.”
“Tima?” Fallon came out onto the veranda carrying Lesya. “Is everything all right out here?”
“We're fine,” I assured Fallon. “But could you keep Lesya a little longer?”
“Sure thing, Tima,” he agreed with a narrowed-eyed look at Marzana.
“Mommy!” Lesya cried. “I stay!”
“I'll see you in a little while, honey,” I promised her.
“Daddy!” Lesya turned to her father; as she always did when I wouldn't give her what she wanted.
Marzana's gaze shot to Lesya in surprise. “You had a child?”
“Not now, Lesya!” Kirill growled and then gave Fallon a pointed look.
Fallon hurried away with her.
“How did you know about Niyarvirezi?” Kirill asked instead of answering Marzana's question.
“She looks like you,” Marzana said softly. “A beautiful little girl.”
“Answer me!” Kirill roared.
Everyone froze.
“Your father vanted to rule Russia,” Marzana said as she stood. “He offered me biggest sacrifice man can make.”
“Nyet.” Kirill shook his head. “He vould not.”
“He did,” she insisted. “I'm sorry, Kirill, but your father sacrificed you to achieve his greatness.”
Kirill's jaw clenched but he didn't look away from Marzana. “Zen vhy am I alive?”
“Because killing you vould have been vaste; you are too handsome,” Marzana said. “So, I gave you to Niyarvirezi instead.”
“You what?” I hissed.
“She said she vould treasure him,” Marzana said. “She promised me.”
“Niyarvirezi was an evil, twisted bitch,” I growled. “And you gave Kirill to her like he was a pet dog!”
“I saved his life!” Marzana screamed. “Vithout me, he vould be dead.”
“Nyet,” Kirill said softly as he stepped between us. “Vithout Vervain, I vould be dead; you put me into hell and my vife saved me from it.”
Marzana gaped up at Kirill.
“Let me translate that for you,” I said to her. “Get the fuck out of our home and never come back again.”
Marzana gasped and hurried away.
Macaria stood. “Um... yeah; sorry about that. I didn't know she had such a bad history with you, Kirill.”
“Just go, Mac,” I said tiredly. “And don't bring anyone else into our territory again.”
“Okay; I'm going.” Macaria looked back at Az. “Later, Az.”
Azrael just nodded.
The women went straight to the tracing room and traced away. Kirill and I turned to Azrael.
“What?” Azrael asked.
“Seriously?” Ted asked. “You don't see how uncool that was?”
“Thaddeus, please shut the hell up,” Azrael growled.
“Ted's right,” I said. “As he was earlier when he called Mac out on her rudeness.”
“Thank you,” Ted huffed as he threw his hands up. “Why didn't you back me then, Vervain?”
“Because I know her friendship is important to Az,” I said before turning to Azrael. “But you had no right to give her the tracing chant.”
“She fought beside me, Vervain,” Azrael snapped. “She's not a threat.”
“I don't care,” I snapped back. “You don't go giving out the tracing chant to our home until you absolutely trust someone.”
“I do trust her,” he said.
“Stupid angel,” Ted muttered.
“What's your problem with Mac?” Azrael asked Ted.
“Look man, I know I shouldn't be saying this shit in front of everyone, but you need to hear it,” Ted started. “That woman came in here as if this was her home, and she
looked at you like you were her man.”
“No; she didn't.” Azrael rolled his eyes.
“Uh, yeah; she did,” Sam confirmed. “That bitch ain't right.”
“Don't call her a bitch!” Azrael growled.
“I'm sorry, Azrael, but Macaria had a very possessive look on her face when she stared at you,” Odin interrupted. “It was unsettling.”
“She's just looking out for me,” Azrael argued.
“Macaria needs to remember that you have a wife,” Ted said. “You don't need her to look after you.”
“Thank you, Ted,” I said.
“She knows that I'm married,” Azrael said. “This is ridiculous. Macaria is not interested in me like that.”
“She's single and she has eyes,” I huffed. “Of course she's interested in you like that.”
“All Macaria wants to do is help me get through this change,” Azrael declared angrily. “She may be a little uncouth, but you're not exactly the most refined woman either, Vervain. You, of all people, should cut her some slack.”
I gaped at him.
“Now, that was really uncool,” Ted whispered.
“Azrael,” Kirill growled. “You need to leave before I hurt you.”
“Fine,” Azrael snapped. “You want me to leave because I'm speaking the truth? I'll go.”
Azrael stalked into the palace.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered in horror, “did my husband just insult me and walk away?”
“Just give him some time to cool down and realize what a jerk he's...” Ted trailed off. Then he shouted, “That dingleberry!”
“Az left the territory!” I realized in the same moment as Ted.
We all went running for the tracing room.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Horsemen, my husbands, and I followed our link to Azrael through the Aether. We traced out onto a bleak mountaintop; cold and barren. We must have arrived just minutes after Azrael, but there was already a battle underway.
Azrael stood in the snow, surrounded by angels. Every angel who was attacking my husband wore a crown and brandished a sword; as if they were a band of winged, warrior kings. They were dressed in the traditional costumes of several different cultures and bore the mark of those same races on their faces.
I had no idea who they were.
