by Linsey Hall
“Delighted, friend.” Aerdeca’s brows rose appreciatively. She gave him the up and down and wasn’t subtle about it.
“Keep it in your pants,” I said.
She just laughed.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Mordaca said. “I have a party to get to.”
“This late?” I asked. It had to be near midnight.
“The day has just started, honey.” Mordaca grinned.
“Don’t listen to her,” Aerdeca said. “It’s past my bedtime. We need to get this over with.”
I followed them through the living room, which looked a bit like a fancy gothic funeral parlor.
Their workshop was different, though. Lighter, with a big wooden table in the middle and shelves on the wall that were stuffed full of potion-making supplies. An enormous hearth burned away at one end, and dried herbs hung from the ceiling.
Aerdeca and Mordaca turned to me.
“That’ll be three grand,” Mordaca said.
I winced. “Do you take card?”
Fates, how long would this take me to pay off?
Maximus was quick, though, handing them his card.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
“This isn’t a date. We’re saving the world.” He smiled down at me. “But I would like to take you on a date eventually. After the world has been saved.”
I grinned stupidly, and I swore to god I heard Mordaca sigh. It sounded like a noise a high school girl would make, and was so out of character that I goggled at her.
She shrugged a shoulder clad in black satin. “What? I’m a romantic.”
“And I’m a businesswoman.” Aerdeca swiped the card through a little machine. It beeped a few times, then she handed the card back.
Mordaca rubbed her hands together. “Let’s do this.”
“Can I see the original instructions?” Aerdeca asked. “I hate working off a phone.”
I dug into my pocket and handed them to her, then set the box of hespodel on the table.
Mordaca joined Aerdeca, and they both bent over the piece of paper, reading quietly. Occasionally they’d jostle each other and someone would get an elbow in the side, but eventually they looked up.
“This won’t take long, but it might not be fun,” Mordaca said.
“What do you mean, not fun?” Maximus asked. “Dangerous?”
Aerdeca shrugged, clearly unconcerned. “Maybe. This stuff usually is. And this spell? Well, it’s a tricky one.”
“What does it involve?” I’d read it but had only understood the potion bit. I didn’t get the rest of it.
“The goal is to induce a trance that will show you where to go to find Atlas,” Mordaca said. “But it can be, ah, stressful to the body.”
“It’ll hurt like hell.” Aerdeca didn’t sugarcoat it.
“I’ll do it, then,” Maximus said.
I grabbed his arm. “No. It has to be me.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“This is part of my journey as a DragonGod. Anyway, it might help that I’m the Greek DragonGod and I’m seeking a Greek titan.”
“She has a point,” Mordaca said. “I do think that her connection to Atlas will make it more effective.”
Maximus frowned. “More effective? So it would still be mostly effective if I did it?”
“We can’t risk it.” I squeezed his arm. “We need to find him. There’s too much at stake. But thank you for wanting to do it so I don’t have to.”
He looked at me, his gaze intense. “Always.”
I wanted to kiss him, but was one hundred percent sure that would get us a whistle from Mordaca.
I turned to them. “Okay, let’s do this.”
“You can sit in front of the fire.” Aerdeca dragged a heavy wooden chair and positioned it in front of the flickering flames. Orange and red danced within the hearth, along with hints of white and blue.
I did as she commanded, letting the heat warm me. They began to bustle around the room behind me, and I turned to watch them combine various ingredients in a bowl. The last addition was the hespodel, which they dropped in without cutting up. The bowl smoked and fizzed.
Mordaca picked it up, while Aerdeca grabbed a long silver blade. I swallowed hard.
They approached, the firelight glinting eerily on their faces.
“Raise your hand,” Aerdeca said.
I did as she asked.
Mordaca held the bowl under my hand, while Aerdeca sliced the knife across my fingertip. Pain flared.
“As you bleed, think of your intentions toward Atlas. Really focus on it,” Aerdeca said.
I closed my eyes and imagined meeting him and asking him how to stop the Stryx and heal the Amazons and himself. It was easy to play it out in my mind, and I wondered if someone could fake this process. Probably not.
“That’s enough.” Aerdeca handed me a small white cloth, and I pressed it to my fingertip.
Mordaca withdrew the bowl and took it back to the table. I turned to watch her and Aerdeca stand over it, their hands outstretched to hover over the top. Light flashed at their palms, and they began to chant.
Magic filled the air, rolling over me. It brought with it the burn of whiskey from Mordaca and the sound of birds from Aerdeca. The liquid in the bowl bubbled up to the surface, smoking violently.
The chanting stopped abruptly, and the smoke died down. The scent of lavender filled the room.
“Looks like it worked,” Aerdeca said.
“Now for the shitty part.” Mordaca picked up the bowl and walked toward me.
“You really know how to put a girl at ease, Mordaca.”
She grinned widely, her red lips glinting in the firelight like fresh blood. “What can I say? I’m a people pleaser.”
“Surrre.”
She handed me the bowl. “Drink most of it, then toss a bit in the fire. Whatever vision you see afterward is where you’re supposed to go to find Atlas. So try to remember it all. Pick up any details you can.”
I nodded, then tentatively sniffed the liquid. Still smelled like lavender. Not so bad.
I raised the bowl to my mouth and gulped.
Ugh.
Tasted of old fish. I nearly gagged, but forced myself to swallow the majority of the potion. Sweat popped out at my temples from the nausea roiling within me. I leaned forward and tossed the last bit of the liquid into the fire, then handed the bowl to Mordaca.
“So, when will these visions st—”
The fire flamed high, and I snapped my mouth shut. It blasted forward, enveloping me. Pain streaked through me as the heat snapped at my skin.
“You’re not really burning!” Mordaca’s words filtered through the agony that made me want to curl up in a ball and die. “Don’t be afraid.”
Afraid?
I could barely process her words, it hurt so bad. I tried to scream, but the noise was trapped in my throat. I was frozen solid, unable to move. Agony like I’d never known tore through my whole body.
“Stop this!” Maximus’s voice broke through the pain. “She’s screaming. This can’t be right.”
“She’s fine. Shut up!” Aerdeca’s voice cracked like a whip, though I couldn’t see her. All I could see was the flame. “Let her finish. She needs to see where Atlas is.”
Atlas.
I clung to the name like a lifeline. The agony still tore through me, but I had to focus. They said this would suck; I’d known that going in.
Every muscle in my body ached and my skin felt like it’d melted off, but I tried to push it from my mind, focusing only on thoughts of Atlas.
I have to find you. I have to save you.
A vision blasted into my mind, a mountain range soaring toward the sky. An ancient Greek ruin sat at the top, marble columns and blocks scattered across the mountaintop—the remains of a once great temple.
Seek the Oracle at Delphi. The words resounded through my mind, and I imprinted them in my memory. I used the pain as fuel, determined to get something out
of this misery.
The fire faded away, and I sagged, flopping to the floor like a dead fish. Though the heat was gone, every muscle in my body was on fire from going rigid during the worst of the pain.
Maximus fell to his knees at my side, his face so white I thought he might pass out. His eyes were stark, pupils blown out. “Are you all right?” His voice was rough when he spoke, as if he’d been shouting.
“Fine.” I blinked, trying to clear my blurry vision as I sat. The movement took everything I had, and by the time I was sitting upright, I was sweating.
Maximus supported me. “What can I get you?”
Mordaca knelt in front of me, her black dress pooling on the ground. She thrust a cup at me. “Here, drink this. It will make you feel better.”
Maximus nearly snarled at her. “What’s in it?”
“A restorative potion.”
I grabbed it, not the least bit concerned. Maximus might have trust issues with Mordaca, but I’d asked for that misery. Insisted on it, in fact. I felt like a bit of a moron now, but it’d had to be done.
I raised the glass and sucked down the liquid, which didn’t taste like dead fish, thank fates. There was a nice hint of grapefruit and rosemary, and as the potion filled my belly, warmth and strength rushed through my limbs.
It felt a bit like sucking the life out of plants. Though I was grateful to get the benefit without actually having to do the plant murdering.
I drank the last sip and lowered the cup. “I know where to go.”
Mordaca and Aerdeca leaned forward, their eyes bright. “Where?”
“Delphi. We have to see the Oracle.”
Aerdeca’s brows rose. She was clearly impressed. “Wow. She’s quite famous. Been dead a while, though, I thought.”
“A couple thousand years, at least,” Mordaca said. “But that won’t stop a proper Oracle. You’ll have to let us know what she’s like.”
I nodded and started to stand. Maximus was quicker, rising to his feet and pulling me up. I smiled up at him, trying to look healthy and hale. “Seriously, I’m fine.”
“You didn’t look fine.”
“That was then; this is now. And we’ve got to get to Greece.”
As it turned out, the best way to get to Delphi was by motorcycle. There was the Delphi that the humans knew of, the place that was frequently flooded with tour busses and cameras. But the real Delphi—the one with the Oracle and the biggest temples—was located on another mountain, far from the prying eyes of humans. None of them had ever seen it, in fact.
Fortunately, Maximus had a friend in the area. Axios the cheetah shifter had hooked us up with two motorcycles and directed us to the remote mountain road that led up to the real Delphi.
It was a sunny afternoon in Greece. I couldn’t believe it was the same day that we’d departed the forest. Wind whipped through my hair as we took the curves at sharp angles, speeding up into the mountains. I’d never ridden a motorcycle before, but it turned out I was a natural.
I pressed on the gas and sped ahead of Maximus.
“Be careful!” His voice was a whisper behind me, drowned out by the engine and the wind and my sheer joy in the ride.
When I crested the hill and spotted Delphi on the next ridge over, I grinned. It looked just as it had in my vision. Dozens of white columns speared the sky, surrounded by thousands of massive marble blocks that had once made up the many buildings at the sacred site. Most of those buildings were in pieces now, but there were a few left standing.
It didn’t take long to reach the main gate, which soared high, white marble against blue sky. I stopped my bike and stared at it. Maximus did the same, his brow furrowed as he inspected the marble gate.
There was no door, just an archway of marble, but it sure felt like something guarded it.
“There’s something off,” Maximus said. “We shouldn’t just walk through. There’s something tricky about this.”
“Agreed.” I eyed the gate, feeling the protective magic prickle toward me. I wasn’t sure what would go wrong if I entered without an invitation, but I was pretty sure I didn’t want to find out.
To the right of the gate was a flat marble slab. A sculpture of a man loomed over it. He carried a lyre and wore a wreath around his head. At his feet, there were a few bundles of dead flowers, a couple candles, and a few coins. I pursed my lips.
“That’s got to be Apollo,” I said. “I read that this city was kind of like his city. The temples were named after him and all that. So maybe we have to make an offering to him.”
Maximus nodded. “The Romans were really into this sort of thing. Probably took it right from the Greeks.”
“What do you suggest as an offering?”
“Money often does the trick.” He pointed to the bouquets. “Some flowers. Something that is valuable monetarily and personally is good, too.”
“Like a weapon,” I said.
“That’d be good.” He climbed off his motorcycle, and magic crackled briefly as he pulled a sword from the ether. It was finely crafted, with a beautiful hilt and a wicked edge. “I’ve always liked this one.”
He laid it on the stone in front of Apollo’s feet. I followed suit, conjuring one of my favorite daggers. The hilt had two little onyx stones inset into the head of a dragon. A bit of a personal joke, really, since I was supposed to be a dragon.
I put the dagger at Apollo’s feet.
The air changed immediately. Now that we’d both made a sacrifice, the protection charm on the archway disappeared.
“That did it.” Maximus strode through.
I followed, feeling no change in the air.
The ruins were completely silent. Even the birds weren’t singing in here. Only the wind moved, blowing gently through the space that possessed the kind of heaviness that I associated with ancient places.
Slowly, we walked up a central lane. Huge stone buildings had collapsed on either side. Here and there, statues peeked up, somehow still standing after years of neglect.
As we passed one of a huge warrior, magic prickled on the air. The statue held his shield and sword in front of him, ready to fight.
I shifted to look at him as we walked by, and magic surged from him. He leapt off his marble pedestal, and my heart jumped.
“Attack!” I shouted the warning to Maximus as I drew my shield and electric sword from the ether.
The marble warrior charged, swinging his blade. I raised my shield, and his sword crashed into it. My arm shook from the blow as I pivoted and swiped out with my blade, hitting him in the shoulder. It didn’t make a dent, and I danced backward.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Maximus fighting another statue. This one was even bigger than mine.
I turned my attention toward my attacker, feinting left and then going right, striking with my blade. It bounced off him again, and whatever magic protected him was strong.
His stone sword glanced off my arm, making pain flare. I stumbled backward.
Behind me, Maximus swung his sword with such force that the statue shattered into a dozen pieces. I’d landed several blows, but these guys apparently could only be defeated with godly strength.
The statue lunged toward me, swinging his blade. I dodged another blow, bringing my own sword up and slicing toward his arm. I gave it my all, but my sword made no dent. I felt the reverberations of the strike all the way up my arm, and winced.
“I’ve got this,” Maximus said from behind.
I darted left, clearing the path for him. He charged, all grace and fury. With one swipe to the warrior’s waist, he shattered the statue.
Panting, I spun in a circle, inspecting our surroundings. No other statues came alive.
“Holy fates, what was that all about?” I asked.
“Perhaps they protect the Oracle.” Maximus spun in a circle as well, checking out the territory.
“Let’s go, then, before any more come alive.”
We passed by a huge temple to Apollo that was
still almost entirely intact, but I shook my head. “I don’t think the Oracle is in there. In my vision, there was a small round building with a domed roof.”
We kept going, passing by an amphitheater built into the cliff and a circular area made of dozens of columns.
“Is that it?” Maximus pointed to the right.
I turned, catching sight of a little round building. I smiled. “Yeah, that’s it.”
We hurried toward it, climbing over rocks and fallen columns, until we finally reached the entrance.
“It looks like it was built yesterday.” Awed, I ran my hands over the smooth stone of the exterior wall.
“People take care of it. Look here.” Maximus pointed to a deep crack in one of the stones that had been carefully mended. “The place isn’t really used anymore, but whoever lives nearby hasn’t let the temple to Apollo fall into ruin. Or the Oracle’s chambers.”
“Faith and knowledge, the two things people care about most.”
“And sports.”
I grinned, looking at him. “Fond of football, are you?”
“Not particularly. But if there’s one thing I’ve noticed about modern day, sports are even more of a religion now than they used to be. If this place had had a football field, it’d be in perfect condition, I guarantee it.”
I chuckled. “Ready to go in?”
He sucked in a breath. “Let’s meet the Oracle.”
Side by side, we stepped into the cool, quiet space. The only light came from the doorway, so it was pretty dark. I squinted, making out a round room that was entirely empty. The only interesting feature in the whole place was the deep chasm in the floor. Steam wafted up from it, smelling faintly sweet.
“Hello? Oracle?” I asked. “We’re looking for Atlas. We were told you could help us find him.”
“Begone, intruders!” The voice bellowed through the small space, bouncing off the walls and seeming to grow louder on the echo. “Begone, or I shall smite you!”
I winced, my ears ringing from the Oracle’s shouts. “We can’t leave. We need help.”
“Begone!”
“Should we make an offering?” Maximus asked.
I nodded. “Couldn’t hurt. Should we throw it in the chasm, do you think?”
