“You’re back,” I breathed, my face pressed against the cold, slick rock. I never wanted to stand again. I just wanted to cling to this wet rock forever.
“I’m back,” Justin agreed.
His face was the saddest I’d ever seen it. I was just happy it was his face again. Justin was back. And we were both still alive.
“I don’t know what happened,” he confessed, his voice thick. “I just . . .”
He drifted off.
“Just what?” I pressed.
It wasn’t the place to talk, but Justin was opening up, and I had to use that. Otherwise, this could happen all over again. And I might not be as lucky the next time.
“I just wanted to help,” he said. “God, that sounds so lame and embarrassing now that I say it out loud.”
“You have been helping,” I assured him. “You know, minus the recent crazy part.”
He gave me a wry smile. “Ordinary me can’t help you. Ordinary me can’t fight monsters and gods and magick. Ordinary me isn’t enough.”
“Justin, I’m a god, and I’m barely holding my own against all of this,” I said. “Cut yourself some slack. You’re just a mortal.”
“No, I’m not,” he said tightly. “Stop saying that.”
“But it’s true!” I replied.
“No, it’s not,” he said. “At least, it doesn’t have to be. I can be more.”
“At the cost of your sanity?” I demanded.
“Be honest. You don’t need a mortal, Hera. You need a god,” he said.
Justin rolled onto his back.
“You mean Zeus,” I realized. “Don’t you?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Don’t you?” I repeated.
Justin took a deep breath. “Yes. I mean Zeus.”
When he looked at me, the intensity in his big, brown eyes took my breath away.
“I’m in love with you, Hera,” he said. “I’m in love with you.”
I felt like the world around me was starting to spin. But it was just my imagination. Breathe. I had to breathe. It was hard to remember when Justin was looking at me like that, talking to me like that.
I spoke. I didn’t want to. But I felt like I had to. Even though I had no idea what to say.
“Justin, I--” I began.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he interrupted.
I gladly stopped. I was married. And a god! For a mortal to speak to me this way . . . I should’ve been furious. But I wasn’t. I was confused, and nervous, and embarrassed. All this emotion was making me giddy.
“I don’t expect--” he started. He stopped. But he knew it was now or never. “I know you can’t possibly feel that way about me. I mean, you’re married, for God’s sake. I just . . . I had to say it. I had to not have it inside me anymore. It’s been killing me.”
“Making you crazy?” I suggested.
He gave me a wry smile.
“So . . . what do we do now?” he asked.
“Now?” I echoed, clearing my throat. “Now I guess we go back.”
“That simple?” he replied, half-smiling.
“That simple,” I said.
“That I can do,” Justin breathed.
He closed his eyes, and slowly, almost regretfully, the world began to melt away. I don’t know why, but just before the Dreamlands completely disappeared, I spoke. I wasn’t even sure Justin could hear me. I wasn’t sure I actually wanted him to.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For telling me. I . . . I’m glad you did.”
I knew what it was like to have something inside you that you just had to get out.
And as the last of the Dreamlands faded away, I knew we were both smiling.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“We have to go after Ekhidna,” Hermes was saying as Justin and I rippled back into the mortal world. “Now. Hit her hard and fast before she can figure out her next move.”
“I agree,” I said. “The more I think about it, the more I can’t believe this whole thing is just Ekhidna’s work. It’s too organized. Too patient. She’s getting help from someone. Ekhidna and her monsters are just the muscle.”
“Who’s Ekhidna?” Justin asked.
“Justin!” Demeter exclaimed.
She rushed in and embraced him. Hermes was right behind her.
“Good to have you back, man,” Hermes said, clapping him on the back.
Justin flushed.
That’s when I noticed Sarah. I almost couldn’t believe what I saw. The power had taken root and blossomed, even more than I’d hoped. Sarah glowed. She actually glowed. The faintest, most ethereal radiance shimmered around her body. Her skin had a warm, golden hue that was reflected in her shining eyes. Her hair glistened and shone. Her teeth glittered as she spoke. She was made of light. She had been reborn.
I smiled. The ritual wasn’t just a success, it was a resounding success. Finally, something was turning out in our favour. For once.
But my smile disappeared quickly. I spotted a single snow-white strand of hair. Even as I watched, it floated gently to the ground, like an autumn leaf from a tree. Sarah didn’t notice. She wouldn’t even feel it yet.
A few days. I told myself that was all we needed. It had to be.
“Ekhidna is the Mother of All Monsters,” I explained, once everyone had given Justin some space. “An avatar of Chaos. Like a god, but serving Chaos instead of Order.”
“Are there other avatars of Chaos?” Justin asked.
“No,” I said. “Not anymore. But that means we can’t just destroy Ekhidna, not without another avatar being created. Chaos must have a champion.”
“And we prefer the one we know we can beat,” Hermes added.
“So the best we can do is stop her,” Demeter said.
“She’s given birth to every monster you can think of, lesser incarnations of chaos, but her favourite are the pythons,” Hermes said.
“We could go on forever about her. We have a long history,” I finished. “But what matters is that, if we can find Ekhidna, we can figure this out once and for all.”
“If we’re going to confront her, we need to even things up,” Artemis warned. “Like Hecate said, we’re being watched. The traitor’s mortal pet is using magick to spy on us. He could be watching us all the time and reporting back.”
“We need to make sure no one can spy on us with magick,” Apollo said. “Or else they’ll always be one step ahead of us.”
“Agreed. But that’ll take magick of our own,” I pointed out. “We can use the same spell the traitor taught his mortal to block out the Heavens. Only we’ll change it to block out the mortal world. The traitor couldn’t use it against mortals without blinding his pet, but we can.”
“But what about Justin?” Demeter pointed out.
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem anymore,” I replied, looking at Justin. He looked away.
“Because of the necklace,” Hermes guessed.
I nodded. “Justin belongs to the Dreamlands now. The Oracle said so herself.”
“Even if he’s immune, how exactly are we going to cast the spell?” Hermes replied. “We can’t do magick. And if Justin’s mortal days are over, he probably can’t either. Magick belongs to this world, not the Dreamlands.”
“Then we’ll find someone who can,” Demeter said.
“We’re already down two witches,” I reminded him. “Powerful witches, witches who can do real magick, don’t grow on trees these days.”
“I know some witches who can help,” Sarah offered.
“Okay, but that still means we need to get our hands on the blocking spell the traitor used. That kind of magick isn’t just lying around for people to find. It’s forbidden,” I warned.
“None of you know the spell?” Justin asked.
We looked at each other.
“No,” I finally admitted. “Gods can’t do magick. We never bothered to learn any spells.”
“The traitor did,” Justin pointed out.
“Where does that leave us?” Justin asked. “How are we going to find a spell that only our enemy knows?”
“We could go back to the Oracle?” Apollo suggested. “She’d know the spell.”
“That’d take too long,” Demeter pointed out. “Besides, the traitor’s already tampered with the Oracle.”
“Can’t the witches just use magick to find the spell themselves?” Artemis asked.
We all turned to Sarah.
“Maybe,” she admitted, “assuming there’s such a thing as a spell to find a spell. But even if there is, magick is grueling. I don’t think witches will be able to cast two powerful spells like that in such a short amount of time. They’ll be too drained.”
“Well, there’s no point having witches exhaust themselves finding the spell, if that means they’ll be too drained to cast it for us,” I sighed.
“Wait,” Hermes said. “We assumed the traitor had his mortal pet cast the spell. But what do you want to bet that good, old Ekhidna is the one behind that little cloud?” I mean, she’s building an army, right? That’s not something the other gods are just going to let slide, even if they’re all in a panic upstairs. I mean, if Ares is looking for a fight like Hestia said, he’d only need half a reason to take out his anger on Ekhidna.”
“So, what? You want to go in and ask her for it?” Artemis asked dubiously.
“We don’t have to,” Sarah said. “I know a spell that allows a witch to enter someone’s mind. Normally, the spell’s incredibly dangerous--”
“It’ll be even more dangerous with Ekhidna,” I warned. “This isn’t a mortal mind we’re talking about.”
“True,” Sarah admitted. “Normally, I wouldn’t even dream of asking anyone to try something like that. But we have something they don’t.”
Sarah looked at me.
“You want me to go in,” I realized.
“You stand the best chance of getting what we need,” Sarah said. “Your powers are psychic. That should give you an edge inside her mind.”
“But won’t casting this mind invasion spell exhaust the witches?” Apollo pointed out. “We still need them to cast the blocking spell when we get it.”
“What about Beth?” Demeter suggested. “She’s a mortal. She can do magick. She could cast the spell to get Hera into Ekhidna’s mind.”
Sarah considered that. “Sure, in theory. But she has no experience or training.”
“But you’ve got both those things,” Hermes said. “Could you walk her through it?”
Sarah bit her lip.
“I could try,” she said. “Beth has a lot of . . . raw potential. After all, she cast the protection spell on the closet. It wouldn’t have worked if she didn’t have some serious magick in her somewhere.”
“Then we call Beth,” I decided.
And hope she’s able to help us. The last time we’d seen her, she’d been seconds away from a complete mental breakdown. She’d already retreated into the Dreamlands once to escape reality. She may very well have gone back. She could be a vegetable by now.
“I’ll call her,” Sarah said. She took out her smartphone and left the living room.
“You sure you can get what we need from Ekhidna?” Hermes whispered to me.
“Just leave it to me,” I said.
But I wasn’t sure. Like her pythons, Ekhidna wasn’t entirely human or snake: she was a monstrous hybrid of the two. Normally, my powers wouldn’t work on her. Her mind was too alien. But with magick infusing them, they might. And might was the best we had.
Sarah returned. “Beth’ll be here soon.”
“How did she sound?” Demeter asked.
Sarah paused. “Traumatized. But I told her she’d be safe.”
“And she believed you?” Hermes asked.
I gave him a dark look. “We’ll do our best to keep her safe.”
When Beth arrived, Demeter went down and brought her up. There was no sign of the fiery, energetic girl she’d been. Her face was haunted now. Her eyes were vacant. I could picture her, sitting in her house, just staring. Just sitting and staring. Broken.
“Beth, we need your help,” Demeter said. “We know you’ve been through something terrible, but this is important.”
Beth just stared.
“I’ll get you some water,” Hermes offered.
“I’ll get it,” I said quickly. “You stay and help explain the situation.”
I gave Sarah a meaningful look, and she fell into step behind me.
“Do you have what we need for this mind invasion spell?” I asked.
“We may have to improvise a few things,” she admitted, as we walked into the kitchen. She opened one of the cupboards and began loading her arms with spices and herbs.
“Any idea of what we can use to snap Beth out of it?” I asked. I began to open random cupboards, hoping for inspiration. “You don’t happen to have pills or something?”
Sarah shook her head. “Your best shot is the liquor cabinet. Liquid courage.”
She pointed to one of the cabinets.
It was overflowing with large bottles of every shape and colour.
“She’ll never drink this,” I said, wrinkling my nose, “especially not on an empty stomach.”
“The empty stomach will help it work faster, trust me,” Sarah said. “Just look for the ones with fruit on them and don’t get carried away. She needs to be able to focus.”
I pulled out some bottles. I judiciously mixed their contents into a glass.
Sarah finished collecting what she needed, and then she opened another cupboard and pulled out a cloth bag. She placed everything inside. Then, she took the glass I’d filled, smelled it, and nodded approvingly after a small sip.
She licked her lips. “Delicious. You missed your calling.”
I smiled wryly and slipped a few of the bottles into the bag. If my drink worked, there was no telling how many times we might need to steady Beth’s nerves.
And with that, we joined the others. Artemis was missing. Probably out scouting for any sign the pythons were coming back.
To my relief, Apollo and Demeter had worked their nurturing charm on Beth. She seemed a bit more collected.
“Feeling any better?” I asked.
Beth took a shuddering breath, and opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. She closed it again, and nodded instead.
I handed her the glass. “Drink this. It’ll help.”
She took the glass, and obediently drained it. She didn’t even flinch at the strong, burning taste.
“Have they explained what we need you to do?” I asked.
Beth nodded again. She was on the verge of tears. Her experience had shattered her. No amount of comfort from Apollo or Demeter could change that.
“We need to go,” Artemis interrupted tersely as she entered the living room. “I spotted pythons. They’re almost here.”
“Fine.” I sighed in frustration. “We’ll continue this elsewhere.”
Everyone fell into step behind me, unconsciously forming a protective circle around Beth. I walked to the apartment door and strode toward the elevators.
I screamed with surprise and pain as an arrow lodged itself deeply into my thigh. Justin threw Beth into Demeter’s arms, and launched himself at me. Another arrow whizzed past us, quickly followed by a dozen more. But as soon as the arrows got near, they flickered and vanished. I’d seen that flicker before.
I looked at Justin. Around the edges of his eyes, crimson was seeping in.
Justin hauled me back into the apartment as Sarah flung out her hand and raised a glowing barrier between us and the incoming barrage. The arrows burst into thousands of tiny shards, embedding themselves into the walls. It was then I spotted them: several pythons concealed around the corner of the hallway, just past the elevators.
An ambush. They must’ve arrived even before Artemis had gone out scouti
ng.
“Five. No, six,” Artemis counted.
She stood brazenly behind the barrier, infuriating the pythons with her audacity. Artemis never changed. I loved her for that. She reminded me of me. Old me. Before I’d come to the mortal world and everything became so complicated.
The pain in my leg was growing exponentially with every second. I could barely see or feel or hear anything, except the pain.
Artemis strode back into the apartment. “Hermes, we need a barricade. Help me.”
“You know we have to leave eventually,” Hermes said dryly, as he helped Artemis carry over a bookcase to cover the door.
“Until then, let’s keep ourselves arrow-free,” she returned evenly.
I winced as Justin lowered me against the wall. Apollo was already next to me.
“Pull out the arrow,” he instructed.
Justin looked at him, then at me. He hesitated. But when I nodded, he yanked the arrow out of my thigh. I screamed.
Apollo quickly covered the gushing wound with both his hands, and his soft, warm radiance spread through me. Though he couldn’t drown out the pain entirely, I could feel his power knitting together the torn muscle and skin.
Suddenly, Apollo looked up at me, shocked.
“What . . .” I began to ask.
Then I lost control of everything. My body began to spasm. I could feel my muscles tighten so hard, I thought they would burst. Justin and Apollo were talking--no, arguing. I couldn’t hear anything, except the blood pounding painfully in my ears. I saw wild panic in Justin’s eyes as he looked down at me.
I screamed. At least, I think I did.
And that was the last thing I did before I lost consciousness.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
I awoke, but not anywhere I recognized.
I was sitting at a plain wooden table with a mug of coffee in my hands. Sunlight streamed through an open window, gleaming off stainless steel sinks. Dark, polished cabinetry lined the walls. Everything here was bright and hot but also strangely familiar.
“You look warm.”
Justin’s voice came from somewhere behind me.
“I am,” I admitted. I was sweating. “Where are we?”
Justin laughed. He opened the window above the sinks. But it didn’t help. I still felt like I was on fire. “We’re home, of course.”
Hera, Queen of Gods (Goddess Unbound) Page 21
