The Cloaked Maiden: A Reverse Harem Romance (Rise of the Ash Gods Book 2)

by Cara Wylde

  He smirked. “You’ve already caught two.” He tilted his head toward her deck. “How did you do it?”

  Valentina took out the cards and, with a simple gesture of her hand, made the Magician and the Hanged Man jump out. Maybe if Nergal saw them, he’d change his mind. It hadn’t worked with Jupiter, but that was no reason to give up.

  “Why not ask them?”

  A sigil, a spell murmured under her breath, and Loki and Veles stepped out of their cards, one in his usual black, almost gothic attire, and the other one dressed in the Magician’s clothes. At the sight of the silver-haired man finally wearing something appropriate, Valentina let out a soft sigh of relief. He looked gorgeous, too. With those electric blue eyes of his, sharp features, and silvery beard, he truly did look like a god. He could have never walked the streets as he was and not drawn all the attention to himself. It made sense, she guessed. Loki had been living as a human for the past few hundred years, Jupiter had incarnated as a human, too, and so had Nergal. She bet that when he mingled with humans, Nergal made his eyes look normal. Veles, on the other hand, was sleeping as a dragon in the ninth dimension when she found him. He could materialize a human body, but he wasn’t human. He hadn’t been born as one and hadn’t lived as one on Earth. Not in a very long time, at least. He was the only one whose powers weren’t limited. Well, Loki’s powers weren’t limited either now, since he was stuck in the Hanged Man card. But Jupiter and Nergal couldn’t exactly move mountains. As long as their spirits were inside human bodies, they had to abide by human rules, at least to some extent.

  “Long time no see, mate,” Loki said. Turning to Jupiter, he more or less sneered at him. He hadn’t forgotten that kiss he’d stolen from Val. Nor the spell he’d put on her.

  “I’d ask how you ended up in her card,” said Nergal, “but I already know. Loki, you were never able to resist a beautiful woman.”

  Valentina blushed and looked away.

  Nergal stood up, nodded at Veles, and tried to pat Loki on the back. His hand went right through his shoulder.

  “Yep, this doesn’t convince me at all,” he chuckled. He turned to Val. “Look, sweetpea, I’ve helped you already. You have my cloak, and you can keep it until you fix your time sensor. Gideon here seems happy to look after you.”

  Jove cocked an eyebrow, shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not her bodyguard. In fact, I don’t know how to put as much distance between me and her as possible.”

  “You brought her here and practically begged me to save her.” Nergal laughed. He found the situation very amusing. Here they were, four gods, two completely smitten with the witch, and two trying their hardest to escape her wicked charm.

  “Special situation. I thought she was dying.”

  Valentina snickered. “No, you didn’t.”

  Jove did his best to suppress a smile. “You don’t know what I think.”

  “Huh.”

  “Enough of this cat and mouse game!” Nergal went behind the kitchen counter and produced a bottle of gin. “Out! All of you!”

  Magny was more than happy to comply. Unfortunately, he was the only one. He poofed up on Valentina’s shoulder.

  “You saw what happened at the temple in Cairo,” Valentina pressed further. She stepped to the kitchen counter, but he didn’t offer her a drink. “Jupiter says they’re Walk-Ins. Do you know anything about Walk-Ins? Anything that might help me?”

  “Why are you asking me this? Go read your witchy books.”

  “Well, because...” She hesitated. “Because you’re Death. So, you must know everything about living and dying. The High Keeper of the Coins... You saw how that thing came out of him, turned his body into ash. When the creature was inside the Keeper’s body, do you think he was... dead?”

  “You talked to him, didn’t you?”

  “So... what? He was still alive, inside, his consciousness pushed aside by the creature’s consciousness?”

  “That’s one way of looking at it.”

  “What’s another way?”

  Nergal sighed. He downed his glass of gin and slammed it on the table.

  “Look at them as if they’re possessed. They are still in there, their voice reduced to silence, and the fourth-dimensional creatures have taken ownership of their bodies. Those who are strong enough can fight the Walk-Ins. For a while, at least. Think about it, sweetpea. What is a Walk-In? It’s in the name. An outside being, without a body, in this case without a Higher Self, that finds itself a host and hijacks it. What’s their goal? To live here, as humans. Or as whatever else they manage to hijack. Not unexpectedly, humans are the easiest to possess. So far, you’ve seen... what? A nāga, a mermaid, and a manticore. I can only assume they grew tired of being stuck in the fourth dimension, assisting all you humans in the third dimension in hopes that if they do well enough, they will be granted permission to reincarnate as humans and a Higher Self of their own. They took the easy way out.”

  “Okay, I get it, but... how? They can’t travel. They shouldn’t have been able to get here in the first place, let alone hijack people.”

  “Let’s see... Your smoke monster. The one you fought at La Congrega di Trionfi Chiari, in Italy. And defeated, so yay you! It was made of two creatures.” He waved two fingers in her face. “What does that tell you?” When Valentina looked lost, he rolled his eyes. “Nothing?” He looked around at Loki, Veles, and Jupiter. “Really? Oh, that’s sad. You have no intuition, guys. Hobgoblin?”

  Magny shrugged. Once again, he was too close to Death for his taste, but the guy was saying some interesting things.

  “It’s a conspiracy,” Nergal chuckled darkly. “We all know that anyone who is multi-dimensional can travel, and to be multi-dimensional means to have a Higher Self or more aspects. So, Ordinaries, witches, vampires, hobgoblins,” he nodded toward Magny, “can travel in one way or another, whether they’re aware of it or not. But these creatures don’t have Higher Selves, nor aspects. They are one-dimensional and fated to dwell in their own dimension, the fourth, until they evolve and are granted one or more multi-dimensional aspects.” He leaned over the counter and looked Valentina in the eye. “From what I’ve seen in your memories, they found a way around it. A mermaid and a manticore, joined in the middle. Somehow, they found a way to make two become one. BAM! Problem solved. Two beings becoming one, and suddenly they are not one-dimensional anymore. They’re united like you, sweetpea, are united with Ravenna, who was supposed to be your Higher Self, but isn’t. So what if you ended up with someone else’s Higher Self? You can still astral travel and whatnot. Am I right? You’re still multi-dimensional even when the aspect you’re connected to is not even yours.”

  Valentina went pale. She covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide. It made so much sense! Once again, it hit her that she wasn’t complete, that she’d been separated at birth from a part of her that was essential, but still... yes, she could travel through dimensions if she wanted to. Did that mean...?

  “Does this mean that Ravenna... err... hijacked me? Is she some sort of Walk-In?”

  “To some extent, yes. But no, it’s not the same thing. She doesn’t completely possess you. You still have control over your own thoughts and actions. No, definitely not the same thing, but okay... similar in some ways. Don’t worry about it. Compared to what your fellow Keepers are going through right now, you’re good, sweetpea. Pretty goddamn lucky.”

  “And when they find someone to possess, these creatures get unlinked,” Magny concluded. “Fascinating! And any entity that possesses a host’s physical body can be exorcised. We just have to find out how to exorcise these particular entities.”

  “I believe so, hobgoblin.”

  “I have a name, you know.”

  Nergal ignored him, which Valentina found very rude. Alas, the god had been helpful, so if she could pretend she didn’t hear him when he called her sweetpea, then Magny could let this one pass too.

/>   “I have to find a way,” she said. “I don’t know how, but I have to. They’re in pain. And if they’re still in there, if those monsters haven’t killed them, then there’s still hope.” She looked at Magny. “There’s still hope for my parents and my friends at the temple. La Congrega di Spade is not gone, not yet. I can save them. I must.”

  “I agree, Keeper.” Magny rubbed his bushy beard. “But how does a witch exorcise a Walk-In?”

  “We have to find a way to get you into the library of La Congrega di Denari.” Loki stepped forward, next to Valentina. He leaned casually against the counter, and whoever saw him wouldn’t have guessed that he was just pretending. He was making a tremendous effort to keep his etheric body from going through the counter. “It’s the closest witches’ library and you might find something useful on Walk-Ins. Also, you need some serious books on how to summon the cards, love. You’ve stalled long enough.”

  “I wasn’t... I’m not stalling!”

  He leaned in closer, and Valentina almost moaned at the incredible smell of freshly-cut grass and summer poppies invading her senses. How was it possible that she couldn’t touch him, but she could still smell him?

  “I believe you are, love. What are you so afraid of?”

  “I’m not afraid...”

  The spell was broken when Jove accidentally sank his elbow into Loki’s side when he grabbed the bottle of gin from Nergal.

  “Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to do that.”

  Loki sneered at him but stepped aside. Valentina needed to step up her game and make him real already. With so many gods crowding around her like bees drawn to a juicy flower, he had some punches to throw.

  “As long as you have my cloak, they won’t dare attack you,” Nergal said matter-of-factly. “You know, Death’s cloak does much more than just temporarily keeping you tethered to the present. To tell you the truth, it might still have abilities I don’t even know about.”

  “Will they be able to see me?”

  Nergal laughed. “It’s not an invisibility cloak, sweetpea. Yes, they will be able to see you, but they won’t hurt you. Not even if they tried.”

  “I’m going now. Every minute counts. Who wants to drive me?”

  She was already headed to the door. The gods exchanged some half confused-half amused glances. Veles caught up with her. His hands went through her arm when he tried to grab her wrist.

  “You can’t go like that.”

  She snapped around, brows furrowed. “Like what?”

  He gave her a once-over. “Dressed like that, I mean.”

  Valentina looked down at herself and blushed. She’d forgotten she was in her panties.

  “Well, look who’s talking, Mr. I’m-Too-Godly-For-Human-Clothes.”

  Veles crossed his arms over his puffed-up chest. “I’m wearing them, aren’t I?”

  “Magny...” She was getting ready to ask the hobgoblin to materialize some clothes for her, when Nergal threw a flimsy thing that seemed to be a dress right at her face. “What’s this?”

  “One of the girls left it around.”

  She threw it back at him. “I’m not wearing some stripper’s clothes!”

  “Why not? Do you hate strippers?” He threw it back at her, as if this was a game.

  “I don’t. Why would you say that?” She remembered how she’d chased the sexy dangers away with her magic storm. But she hadn’t done it because she didn’t like strippers. She’d done it because... Ugh! She clutched the dress to her chest. “Okay, I’ll wear it.” She stomped toward the bathroom. “But only because I don’t have anything better to wear right now.”

  When she came out of the bathroom, clad in the skimpiest red sequin dress she’d ever seen in her life, let alone worn, she’d expected their reaction to be different. As in, she’d expected them to show some admiration and approval, not cock their brows and try to hide their amusement. Even Veles seemed to be holding back laughter, which was aggravating. He was usually the most serious and mature one.

  “Err... maybe you should change your shoes, Val?” Magny suggested. “Not that I know much about human fashion.”

  She looked down at her feet and rolled her eyes. Okay, so she probably looked funny dressed like a stripper and wearing sports shoes. A quick glance around was enough to spot a pair of high knee boots by the side of Nergal’s bed. She put them on quickly, then stumbled twice as she walked to the door. Her cheeks flared. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to wearing high heels, because she was. These things, though... Goddess! They were made for lying in bed or flying around a dance pole, not walking. Okay, she could do this. “Focus, Valentina. Focus.” By the time she reached the door, she’s straightened her back, lifted up her chin, and achieved quite a graceful posture. One side glance at Loki, and she knew they weren’t making fun of her anymore. Score! Wait. What? Why was she trying to impress them, anyway?

  “So, who’s driving me there?”

  She turned around and looked at Jupiter and Nergal. Jove was holding his breath, too entranced by her figure to move or talk, and Nergal was looking at her as if she belonged to him now. There was that pride in his eyes... Actually, she could sense it more than see it. There was no way anyone could identify any kind of emotion in those black pools of his. She guessed it was because she was wearing his cloak. For some reason, men loved it when women wore their clothes. An oversized tank top or shirt that reached his girl’s knees, and a man could feel like he was on top of the world. Apparently, it applied to immortal, all-powerful beings too. Well, tough luck. Because Val didn’t belong to him because of a piece of garment.

  “Well?”

  “I am.” Nergal rushed past her, opening the door and heading down the hallway, certain that she was following him.

  “That thing he rides is dangerous,” Jove growled. “I’m driving you.”

  Valentina bit the inside of her lip. For one, she hadn’t yet forgiven Jove for having put a spell on her, but the real reason why she was going to refuse his offer was because she did want to ride Death’s supposedly dangerous motorcycle.

  “You can take Magny.”

  Magny immediately poofed himself on Jove’s shoulder. The god sneered at him, but he remained unimpressed. Once a hobgoblin had met a God of the Underworld, a hobgoblin couldn’t possibly be scared of a God of the Sky any longer. It was simple logic.

  Before going after Nergal, Val took out her deck and motioned for Loki and Veles to get back into their cards. They didn’t seem particularly pleased, but they had no choice. After all, even though she was going into the enemy’s nest, she was safe with Jupiter and Nergal.

  As she stepped onto the pavement, Valentina wrapped the velvety cloak around her. The people waiting in line to get in the club gave her curious, interested looks, and she suddenly felt too exposed. They probably believed she was a dancer. She realized she’d been there for a couple of hours since the sun was setting and the city was starting to buzz with the feverish excitement of another Cairo night. Nergal was waiting for her, already straddling his bike. He gave her a black, shiny helmet and revved the engine.

  Valentina had never ridden a motorbike before. She took a deep breath, placed her hands on Nergal’s shoulders for support, and swung her left leg over the saddle. She felt him tense under her touch then relax, as if he was just getting used to her.

  “Hold on, all right? Don’t let go. I can feel you’re scared, but this is a special bike, trust me.”

  “Because of the brand?”

  He chuckled. “No. Because it’s my bike.”

  “Oh. Does it have abilities? Like your cloak?”

  “It just might, sweetpea. It must might.”

  And they were off into the night, followed by Jove’s red beast, Magny securely strapped in the front seat. Valentina gasped and wrapped her arms tighter around Nergal’s waist. Her breasts were pressed against his back, her thighs tense, holding on to him as best as she could. No matter how hard she tried, she c
ouldn’t relax. And it wasn’t just the air rushing past her as they sped through the busy streets and alleys. It was his body flush against hers. She had him in her arms. Literally. It felt just as intimate as the kiss she’d shared with Loki. She closed her eyes and relived it for a moment. As she licked her lips under the helmet, imagining Loki’s tongue was exploring her mouth, the vision changed, and the God of Mischief became Gideon Jove. That bastard! He’d tricked her, but she’d still enjoyed every second of it. She shook her head and opened her eyes. Looking ahead, over Nergal’s shoulder, she wondered... What would Death’s lips taste like? She squeezed his middle even harder. She never wanted to let go. The long, black cloak flapped behind her, and the hum of the motorcycle eased the ache between her legs.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Valentina had to go in alone. There was no other way. The temple was well protected with spells that kept away Ordinaries, gods, and all creatures that weren’t witches. Jupiter, Nergal, and Magny had to wait for her across the street. She could summon Loki and Veles, or maybe the Knight and the King of Swords, but it wasn’t like they could actually help her in case she had to fight her way in or out. She took a deep breath and stepped through the front gates. The yard was empty, just as she’d expected. The sun had set, so most of the Keepers were at home with their families. She shuddered. Their families of Walk-Ins... If the parasitic creatures possessing the Keepers of the Coins had taken over their lives and stuck with their hosts’ habits, then some of them had probably stayed behind at the temple to watch over the altar and, maybe, study in the library. Valentina had no intention to step foot into the altar room. There was nothing there anymore. She had the Suit of Pentacles with her. The library, however... Different story.

  “But why would they?” she wondered. “Why would they take over a bunch of witches and stick to their routine? What’s the point?”

  “What else are they supposed to do?” Ravenna said softly. She sounded tired and weak. “Take over the world? Maybe they’re waiting for something.”