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

by Cara Wylde

  “What are they, then?” He crossed his arms over his chest. When Val didn’t answer, he huffed. “That’s what I thought. Lovers.”

  She shook her head and went back to the recipe.

  “Okay, it’s not impossible to get the plants.” She took a deep breath. “I can do it.” Unfortunately, what she read next made her face fall. “Mouse eyes aged for fifteen years? A pair of chicken legs, one painted red and the other painted black, harvested on a full moon and aged for three years! What the...? New moon water. Okay, I can make new moon water. Wait, there’s an asterisk again. The water has to be charged under a new moon in Pisces. Seriously?” She counted in her head. “That’s seven months from now!” She snapped the book closed. “Magny, I can’t do this!”

  “Well, the spell does look pretty ancient.”

  “Yes! Apparently, no one updated it because what I’m trying to do has never been attempted before. There are two other variants of it, but they’re more or less similar. What am I going to do? And no one tried the spell, anyway. We can’t even know for sure if it will work.”

  Magny rubbed his beard in deep thought. “You’re a witch. Can’t you update it? Adapt it to modern times?”

  “No! I would have to try all three variants first, see how they work, figure out exactly what each ingredient does and how, and then find modern alternatives. It’s... it’s...” She threw her hands in the air. “It’s more complicated than alchemy! Right now, I have a better chance at turning lead into gold!”

  “Refreshments, Miss?”

  The flight attendant motioned toward her cart.

  Valentina gave her a forced smile. “Err... yes. Diet Coke?”

  Magny pulled at her sleeve. “Champagne, too!”

  “And a glass of champagne, please.”

  They waited until the flight attendant went away. As she sipped her Coke, Valentina looked around. The woman across the aisle was giving her weird looks. Okay, it made sense. From the outside, she probably looked crazy talking to herself and getting angry at a book. If she weren’t on a plane, she would have pulled out her phone and pretended she was in a heated conversation. She cursed under her breath and turned her back to the woman.

  “So, what are you going to do?” Magny asked.

  “Shh! Don’t talk to me.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because it looks like I’m talking to myself,” she whispered. “Let me read. I’ll figure it out somehow.”

  It was hard for the hobgoblin to be silent for so many hours, but he didn’t have a choice. He tried to catch some sleep. When they landed in Munich, Valentina grabbed her hand luggage and shook him awake. She was dying for a cheeseburger with fries, and she had enough time to eat. She’d read about the airport online, checked to see what it had to offer, and soon realized there was no way she could enjoy it fully on such a short layover. Apparently, people said it was the best airport in Europe. She rushed to the fast food restaurant she’d decided on online and stopped to wait in queue. She dropped her hand luggage and grabbed her temples when it happened. A flash. It was night, and the airport was empty. Another flash. The architecture was entirely different, and completely futuristic. She was standing in front of a shoe store instead of a restaurant. Flash. The whole thing was a construction site, and she was standing precariously on a scaffold.

  “Magny.” She groaned, closed her eyes, and felt for her hand luggage. “It’s happening again. The flashes. Oh my Goddess, I think I’m going to throw up. I need a restroom. Now! Guide me.”

  “Oh, oh, oh...” The hobgoblin started poofing himself all over the place, in a panic. “I don’t know... This is bad, this is so bad!”

  “Focus,” she said through gritted teeth. She stepped out of the queue, and someone ran into her. “Sorry, I’m sorry...”

  “You’re in everyone’s way!”

  “Guide me.”

  “Okay, let’s see...” He poofed himself up on her head and looked for the nearest restroom. “To your right, then straight ahead. And when I say stop, you stop because it means you’re going to run into someone. Okay?”

  Valentina didn’t say anything. She clutched her handbag and did her best to follow his directions.

  “I guess it didn’t last,” Ravenna said matter-of-factly.

  “Gee, what gave it away?”

  The voice chuckled. “Come on, it’s not that bad. Now you have an excuse to have sex with all of them again.”

  “And you’re not invited.” Val could almost imagine Ravenna pouting. “Shut up and let me focus.”

  “We made it,” the hobgoblin cheered. “To your left now. The back stall is empty.”

  Clumsily, Valentina made her way to the back stall, felt her way around, lowered the toilet seat, and sat down with a deep, exhausted sigh.

  “I can’t believe it’s happening again,” she whispered. “I thought I’d fixed it.”

  Magny poofed himself on her luggage. “What do we do now?” He materialized a huge, ticking clock out of nowhere. “We only have time for a quick cheeseburger, not a time sensor crisis!” He waved the clock around but seeing how Val couldn’t even open her eyes to check the time, he poofed it away.

  “I know! Let me think!” She ran her hands through her long, tangled hair. There was only one solution, so why was she hesitating? She drew out her tarot deck, placed her left hand over it, and willed the Death card to jump out. “I need Nergal’s cloak,” she said.

  “Err... can you summon him with your eyes closed?”

  “I guess we’ll find out.” She placed the card on her knee and the rest of the deck in its pouch.

  “Oh no, sweetpea! Again?”

  Nergal’s voice startled her. She gave him a smile. Even though she couldn’t see him, she knew he was probably leaning against his motorcycle, arms crossed over his chest, an indulgent smile playing on his lips.

  “I need your cloak again. Sorry. I really thought what we... err... did solved my problem permanently. It appears I was wrong.”

  “You can have the cloak, sweetpea. Do your thing.”

  She took a deep breath and straightened her back. “I’ll try.”

  “Don’t try, just do it.”

  “I’m in a cramped bathroom stall, in the middle of a busy airport... Someone is drying her hands right outside. I can barely focus...”

  “Valentina,” his voice was calm and serious. “You can do it.”

  She nodded and started drawing the sigils above the Death card. Not being able to see what she was doing made her doubt she was getting them right. She chanted in a low voice, hoping it was low enough that no one would hear her. Her situation was getting more and more embarrassing. She was sure she’d drawn enough weird looks walking through the airport with her eyes closed. As a witch who had sworn to keep her true identity a secret from all Ordinaries, she felt vulnerable when she knew there was the slightest chance that Ordinaries might guess she was not like them. Overhearing an obscure chant in an old, unknown language through a stall door might lead exactly to that sort of wild guess.

  Nothing happened.

  “Try again,” Nergal encouraged her.

  “It’s no use! Magny, what am I doing wrong?”

  “How would I know? I’m not a witch!”

  “You were there when I first performed the spell.”

  “I... I wasn’t really paying attention,” he mumbled.

  She dragged in a breath and focused. She tried again, and again with no success. She couldn’t give up, though. Death’s cloak was her only chance of getting out of that bathroom stall sometime this century. The sixth time, it worked. She felt a whoosh of energy around her knees as the spell did its thing and Nergal stepped out of his card, then his gentle touch on her cheek. He placed his cloak around her shoulders, and she opened her eyes reluctantly. She found herself staring into his black pools of nothingness, and she smiled. His demon eyes didn’t frighten her anymore. If anything, she found them comforti
ng.

  “Thanks.” She stood up, her hands coming to rest on his broad chest.

  “You’re welcome,” he whispered. He leaned in and captured her lips in a soft kiss. It was nice to have her all to himself, if only for a few minutes.

  “Eww! Get a room!” Magny added a fake gagging sound to make his point.

  Valentina rolled her eyes.

  “He’s right,” Nergal said, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it. “We should get you a hotel room.”

  Val pulled away. “Are you kidding me? I have a plane to catch!”

  “You can’t go through Security with that huge cloak on,” Magny reasoned.

  “I can enchant it so no one can see it. An invisibility sigil, and it’s done.”

  “Sweetpea, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not well enough to return home just yet.” He brushed her hair back, his thumb lingering on her temple.

  “I have to try. I... I read about how to exorcise a Walk-In.”

  “And?”

  Her shoulders slumped. “And it’s a complicated spell that hasn’t been updated in like...” She threw her hands in the air. “Ever! I don’t have the ingredients. I think I can get most of them, but... mouse eyes aged for fifteen years?! How the hell am I supposed to get something like that? Those spells were probably written way before the Inquisition was a thing. If those guys found mouse eyes and chicken legs in their homes, no wonder they burned the witches at the stake! That shit is scary!”

  Nergal crossed his arms over his chest. “If you don’t have the ingredients and you can’t perform the spell, then why do you insist on confronting the Walk-Ins?”

  “Because it’s my family we’re talking about here! And my coven! I... I’ll figure it out.”

  She tried to push past Nergal to get out of the stall. He blocked her way.

  “Yes, you will. We all will, together. But you can’t go home. Not yet. You’re not ready.”

  “I have you, and Loki, and Veles, and Jupiter. You have my back, right?”

  “That goes without saying, but sweetpea... we can’t exorcise the Walk-Ins. And you don’t want to fight them given that they occupy your parents’ bodies.”

  She sighed. “You’re right.” She looked up at him, her blue eyes filled with worry. “Then what should I do? What next? I can’t just hide forever and wait.”

  He searched her eyes for a long moment.

  Valentina could feel that he wasn’t just staring at her for the sake of it, or because he was in love with the color of her irises. He was looking for something.

  “Well?”

  “I might have a solution. I don’t know if it will work, but at least it’s something. Let’s get you a hotel room first.”

  “Wait! We can’t be seen walking out of the women’s restroom together!”

  He winked at her. “Don’t worry, I can take care of it.” He mumbled something under his breath, and within seconds, the restroom was empty. “Neat trick, right? After you.”

  Valentina shook her head and squeezed out of the stall. “The Great Pyramid all over again...”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The hotel was located between Terminals 1 and 2. The idea wasn’t to leave the airport altogether, but to take a short break, so she and Nergal could figure out their Plan B. His Plan B, actually, since Valentina had never had one, nor the intention to think about one. She’d been fixated on one thing and one thing alone: getting back home and saving her family and friends. Well, that had to wait. Maybe she could... She pulled out her phone, opened her Contacts, and stared at Piper’s phone number for a long while. She hadn’t talked to her best friend since they got separated in London. With a sigh, she turned off the screen and plopped on the bed. Piper hadn’t called once, and Valentina still felt like she should give her time. Pipes would reach out when she was ready.

  As Nergal ordered a cheeseburger with fries, Valentina sent Magny to find her luggage and poof it from the plane to Washington to their room. Wherever she was going next, she couldn’t go without her clothes, shoes, and toiletries. Having a hobgoblin around had proved to be useful time and time again, so maybe she should start thinking about how to reward Magnus for his efforts. He had to want something, for sure. But what?

  “So? What’s your solution?”

  “The Hermit.”

  Valentina looked up at Nergal, her mouth full of fries. She nodded for him to continue as she chewed thoroughly.

  “I saw the cabin in the woods. You visited him during your Test. He was alone, he was making the fire... I know who he is.”

  “You do? I thought he could only be the Hermit. Too isolated to be anyone else.”

  “Hades.”

  “Hades?! The Greek God of the Underworld?”

  Nergal smiled. “Surprised?”

  “That you know him?” She thought for a second. “No. If anyone were to know him... yeah. It would be you. I see that now. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

  Nergal sighed. “Let’s just say we were already crowded enough.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “You’re the worst.”

  He chuckled mischievously. “And you love it.”

  She blushed and bit into her cheeseburger, eating it in a hurry. When she was done, she washed her hands and grabbed her tarot deck. It was easier to cast the summoning spell with her eyes open, so Loki, Veles, and Jupiter joined them in no time. Magny was back with her luggage, and Nergal got him up to speed. They were all going to try to find Hades, the Hermit.

  “And how exactly can he help us? I mean... help Valentina,” Magny asked.

  “At this point, I don’t care,” Val said quickly. “He’s a god and I have five more Major Arcana cards to restore.”

  “That’s not why I told you who he is,” Nergal said. “I believe he can...”

  “What?!” Val turned to him, her eyes lit with a mix of anger and incredulity. “You know I have to re-create the Trionfi Chiari to save the Tarot!” Her eyes moved to Veles, who was sitting at the desk, playing with a pencil, then to Loki, who was on the balcony, and Jupiter, who was on the couch, flipping through TV channels. “You all do! If I find out that you know who the rest of the gods are and how to find them and you’re not telling me...” She wasn’t sure how she wanted to finish the sentence. She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’d tell me, right? Why wouldn’t you?”

  Nergal let out a heavy sigh. “Because it’s not our place. Yes, your mission is important and dangerous. Yes, saving the Mysteries of the Tarot is... huge. But you must understand, sweetpea. I don’t think Hades wants to be found. I think he can help you with your time sensor, since he’s the Hermit and he has chosen a life of solitude to study the mysteries of the Universe... But if he finds out I revealed his identity to you...” He laughed. “Well, he’ll probably not like me as much. Not that he liked me much in the first place, anyway.”

  “Loki took me to Veles,” Val said. “And Veles didn’t mind.”

  The silver-haired god smiled. “I hope you’re not comparing me to Hades.”

  “I... n-no!”

  Loki stepped back into the room, closing the balcony door behind him. “If I remember well, I didn’t tell you who he was, nor where to find him. You it out yourself, and I merely showed you how to track him down.”

  Valentina thought for a moment. “Fair enough.” She turned to Jupiter. “You took me to Nergal, though. And that worked out... well.”

  Jove chuckled. “I only took you to Nergal because you were in trouble. Big trouble. I knew he was the only one who could help you. Honestly, if you hadn’t screwed up your time sensor, I probably would’ve never taken you to him.” He looked up and gave her a mischievous wink. “I would have kept you all to myself.”

  Valentina threw her hands in the air. “You guys are awful! All of you!”

  “Love, we want to help you,” Loki said, “We do. We’re here, right? We will take care of you, protect y
ou, kill your enemies for you if necessary, but it’s not our place to say who’s the next god to get trapped into one of your tarot cards. There’s this thing called free will, you know?”

  She turned to the hobgoblin. “Magnus, what do you think?”

  Magny puffed out his chest. It wasn’t often that Valentina called him by his name and not the stupid nickname Piper had given him. Hm. He missed Piper.

  “I think that if these four gentlemen applied themselves, you’d find the rest of your Ash Gods by tomorrow. But,” he stuck his finger in the air, “I think it’s also not their business to fulfill this mission for you. You are the Keeper of the Spades. Chance, or destiny, or whatever you want to call it... Fate! Fate has decided that you must be the one to save the Suits and the Major Arcana, bring the Tarot together, and defeat the Walk-Ins. No one can do it for you. It’s not how it works.”

  Valentina sighed. “You talk like we’re in a fantasy novel and I’m stuck with the hero’s journey and I have to follow it step by step, no matter what. Meanwhile, you’re just sidekicks, and you’re having the time of your life seeing me struggle and helping me here and there, when the plot allows it.”

  Magny laughed out loud. “That’s not a bad analogy!”

  “Sweetpea, here’s the deal, and it’s simple,” Nergal said. “You know that saying... do unto others as you’d have them do unto you?”

  “Wow! Don’t tell me you’ve read the Bible!”

  “Please. The Bible is just a rehash of what was written and passed by word of mouth way before Christianity was a thing.”

  “So, what are you saying?”

  Nergal closed the space between them and took her hands into his. He lifted them to his lips and kissed her knuckles one by one.

  “I’m here now, and there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be. I know you, I...” He pushed her hair behind her ear. “I can touch you, look at your pretty face, kiss those pouty lips... And I love every minute of it. But before I ever knew you, if some god knocked on my door and told me: ‘Here’s this witch, she wants you to jump inside a tarot card and stay there forever, and you’d better do it because the fate of the Earth is at stake’... Well, I would have knocked his teeth out.” He smiled sweetly. “Know what I mean?”