by Sierra Dean
The goddess stroked the creature’s monstrous face lovingly, then nodded towards the corner of the room, where it slunk away to merge with the shadows once more.
Though Mormo was still with us, now that I couldn’t see it, I felt safer.
So stupid.
“Are you going to kill us?” I was exhausted and fresh out of fucks. This trip had worn me down to my last nerve, and if we were going to die, I wanted to barter for Cade’s life and get this over with. Frankly this Leo kid was turning out to be more trouble than I thought he was worth.
If he was so important to Seth, why not have Sido pop up wherever he was living and rescue him? I was starting to think this was a convenient way for the temple to get rid of me and upgrade Seth to a more subservient Rain Chaser.
“What a boring question.” Hecate sat on the edge of the bed, turning her body towards us. Even sitting at a lower height, her presence loomed large.
There were lesser gods, and major gods, and being near her left no question which of the two she was.
Facing us, she resembled a beautiful woman, her skin russet with a bright copper hue. Her dark hair, blacker than mine, hung loose around her shoulders. She glanced towards Cade, and the angle changed her face completely, her smooth skin becoming rough and marred with deep wrinkles. Flecks of silver glinted in her hair, and her eyes took on a milky film.
Fen snarled from under the pillow, drawing her attention. Once again she changed, her cheeks becoming rounder, skin soft and free of blemishes. She looked like a little girl, no more than eight, in spite of the womanly shape of her body.
A shudder went through me.
The human shape taken by the gods was flexible and could differ depending on their audience. Seth, for example, had dozens of names and a face for each. Thor, Tlaloc, Iya…whatever mantle he was being called, he had an image to suit it. Beneath the faces, though, he was always the same god.
Hecate was the only one I’d seen who shifted her faces so readily, with every turn of cheek. She was the three-faced goddess: the maiden, the woman, and the hag. She represented the beginning and end of life with each shake of the head.
It was deeply disconcerting.
Looking at me head-on again, she smiled, drinking in my unease. Blessedly, unlike Badb, Hecate opted for straight, white, human teeth. It didn’t make her smile any less frightening.
“If I was going to kill you, I wouldn’t stop for a chat ahead of time. I happen to find Manea’s little vendetta to be petty and beneath immortal concern, but who can make death see reason?” She gave a half shrug and pulled Fen out from under the pillows without looking.
He nipped at her, and I tried to grab him, but he was in her lap before I had a chance. Cade’s fingers were looped through my belt, holding me firmly in place. So, it was okay for me to talk a big game, but he would stop me before I could take stupid action.
Good to know.
As soon as Hecate began to stroke Fen’s back, his ears relaxed and he shut his eyes, curling into a small lump of relaxation.
Literally the worst familiar of all time.
“You’ve made yourself easy targets, little ones. Mormo and I found you with no effort at all. I’m sure there are others whose designs are much more lethal who will find you soon enough.”
“Sssstupid mortalssss,” hissed Mormo.
“Thanks for the pep talk.” Seriously, what was with these goddesses showing up and telling us how much trouble we were in, as if we didn’t already know? I would have almost preferred if Hecate was here to do us in. At least that would end this somehow.
She clucked her tongue at me. “Ignore Mormo, he’s harmless.”
He. It was strange to attach a male or female pronoun to the creature hiding in the back of the room, but it did make it a lot easier than thinking of him as an it.
“If you’re here to help, we appreciate it,” Cade offered, trying to goad her into some form of an explanation. Otherwise her appearance here was needlessly stressing me out.
“Oh, I won’t step on any toes. Manea is being foolish, but I don’t want her to turn her wrath on me next.” She snorted softly. “She carries a grudge the way some people carry a torch for an unrequited love.” A sneer twisted her otherwise-beautiful features, telling us precisely what she thought about love.
I wanted to scream, Why are you here?
“I can’t help you avoid Manea’s wrath,” she continued, “but I do have some information of interest to you.”
Now she had my attention. “I’m listening.”
“Nothing comes for free, of course.”
Oh for fuck’s sake.
“So you want something.”
“Have you ever met a god who didn’t?”
Touché.
“Is it something I can actually offer?” There was no way I was committing to this deal without knowing terms. I might end up putting Seth in Hecate’s debt, and I would never make a mistake like that again. Debts are not something gods were keen to pay.
“Yes.” The sinister smile was back on her lips, and her dark eyes pierced me, sending a cold chill down my spine.
“Is it something I’ll want to do?”
She turned her head so it was the little girl who spoke, making the answer all the more creepy as a result. “Probably not.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Just pull the Band-Aid off.” I sighed. “What is your wisdom going to cost me?”
“Nothing unusual. I want a favor.”
I frowned. “No.”
“Tallulah.” Cade shook his head lightly, his expression tight and serious. “Maybe listen to what she has to say first?”
Easy for him to say. The goddess of ghosts wasn’t asking him for an unspecified favor.
Fen snored loudly in her lap.
“You’ll barely notice it, I swear.” Hecate stroked the fennec’s head. She’d painted on a trust me smile that was doing precisely the opposite.
“I’m not agreeing to anything until you tell me exactly what you’ll give us and exactly what you want. No vagaries, no games, just tell me what to expect.” I knew whatever she wanted from me I wouldn’t like it, but I was hoping it would be worth the trade. I’d sacrifice a great number of things if she could possibly make things the slightest bit easier for me.
“The man you’re looking for, I know where to find him.”
Cade’s hand moved from my belt to my neck, his fingers tightening at my nape. His message was unnecessary but clear: Don’t give anything away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” This could easily be a trap, and if I admitted we were looking for Leo, or any man at all, I’d be confirming it for her. It wasn’t out of the question for her to be playing us to help Manea. We’d need to tread very carefully.
“Sssstupid,” Mormo groaned.
“As for y—”
Cade squeezed my neck hard, shutting me up mid-sentence as I readied a crippling insult for the hidden god. Might have been for the best. I’m pretty sure Mormo could eviscerate me with one arched brow. Not the kind of deity you want to mouth off to.
My temper got the better of me sometimes.
Hecate was still smiling, rubbing Fen’s ears. “Pay no mind to Mormo.”
Sure, I’ll just ignore the rude, sulfur-smelling beast from the stankest reaches of the underworld who happened to be standing ten feet away from me and kept calling me stupid. No problem whatsoever.
“Tell me what you’re really here to offer us.”
She looked up, dark eyes glowing in the low-wattage bulb overhead. “You want Leo Marquette, and I know where he is.”
Cade’s hand froze on my neck, his thumb grazing the place beneath my ear, tickling in a not-altogether-unpleasant way. Another time I might have enjoyed him touching me in that exact spot, but as it was I could practically feel his fear pouring into my skin.
We both knew this was going toe-up fast.
I gritted my teeth, not sure what to say that wouldn’t be a mistak
e.
“I don’t know what—”
“Tallulah, can I be frank with you?”
“Okay.”
“It doesn’t please me to do nice things for Seth. The night and the storm have long been in contention.”
“Yeah it’s a real who can make things darkest contest, isn’t it?” I retorted.
Squeeze.
“I like you, though.”
“Goddess knows why,” Cade muttered.
“She’s different from the rest of you,” Hecate replied to him. “Perhaps it’s being one half of a whole, perhaps it’s her spirit, I don’t know. But you’re often very entertaining.”
One half of a whole.
She knew about Sunny.
“What do you want?” I snapped. It was obvious she knew about Leo, so what was the godsdamned point in pretending she didn’t? If she could get us to him, I’d pretty much agree to anything within reason. Especially if it got Mormo out of my room and Fen out of the goddess’s clutches.
“There will come a point in your journey, Miss Corentine, where you will find yourself at a crossroads.”
“This journey, or the metaphorical journey of my life?” Clarity, as always, was key here.
Hecate looked annoyed at my interjection, but said, “The latter.”
“And what does this metaphorical crossroads have to do with the here and now?”
“Nothing. But it will be important, because you are important, whether you realize it now or not. So when the time comes that you reach that juncture, the direction you take will be up to me. That’s my request.”
I stared at her.
If I was understanding correctly, she was saying that one day I’d need to make a difficult and important choice, and she was going to make it for me.
There was no way I wouldn’t regret this.
“Fine.” I huffed out a sigh, hoping she’d register I wasn’t thrilled.
Not that she’d care.
“Tallulah, don’t,” Cade warned. “Think about this.”
“I think if we don’t find Leo, we’re fucked anyway and I’ll be dead before I reach the point she’s talking about, so what does it matter? Giving up this choice means I might actually live long enough to regret it. And you’ll live long enough to tell me you told me so.”
“See? Smart. I like her.” Hecate set the sleeping fennec down on a pillow, and he didn’t stir. She patted the place on the comforter beside her and beckoned me forward. “Let me show you the way.”
“Ssssee the path,” Mormo goaded.
I was enjoying this situation less and less with each passing second.
Hecate was going to put her hands on me, and I did not particularly want to let her do that, no matter that she seemed like she was on our side. I touched the bracelet Badb had given me, hoping that if Hecate or Mormo tried anything when my guard was down, it would do what the Morrigan sister had promised me it would.
Though the promises of fickle gods had about as much value as wooden nickels.
Twisting myself free of Cade’s grip, I took the offered spot next to Hecate, careful to leave space between us. Sweat beaded along my forehead and down my back. If the gods could smell fear, they’d have no doubt I was swimming in it right now.
She lifted both hands towards me, and I flinched as if she’d tried to slap me.
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
“No.”
Hecate laughed, lowering her chin slightly and giving me a glimpse of the hag aspect. The old woman’s sagging flesh shook with each chuckle. Combined with her still-firm body, it was unsettling and did nothing to bolster my trust.
“Too bad.” She clamped her hands on my temples, her fingernails digging into my scalp just hard enough to hurt but not enough to draw blood.
My breath escaped me in a painful gasp.
In a flash, the room, the bed, Cade, and Mormo were all gone. I was alone with Hecate, and we were standing on a dusty road, ensconced in the black stillness of night.
“Where am I?” I was struggling to breathe, each word a labor.
“This is the night road.”
“Fuuuuuuuck this.” I wrenched myself free of her, but it was useless. Even without her hands on me the road didn’t fade away. We were alone, and I wasn’t getting out of here until she decided it was time for me to go.
The night road was a myth, somewhere humans were never supposed to see.
Ghosts used the night road to travel to or from their final resting places, be it the underworld or onto the next stage of their being. The time beyond life was deeply uncertain. All I knew was I wasn’t dead yet, so I had no desire to be somewhere where everyone around me was.
“Don’t fight it,” Hecate said. “The night is mine, not Manea’s. Once the death has touched someone, she no longer has interest in them. That’s when they become mine.”
“Comforting.”
“I mean only to put your mind at ease. You’re safe here.”
I snorted. Rumor had it any living being who found themselves on the night road would go mad within minutes. So my definition of safe varied wildly from hers. “Why did you bring me here? If you wanted to show Manea you could get to me first, bravo, you win.”
“You’re special, Tallulah, but not irreplaceable. Show some respect.” Her tone never stopped being warm and welcoming, but I knew better than to be dismissive of what she was saying. She wouldn’t warn me twice.
“Sorry.”
“I’ll pass it off as circumstantial stress.”
“I still don’t understand why you want to help me. You don’t even like Seth.”
“This has very little to do with Seth and everything to do with what you can offer me in the future.”
“Last time I checked, the goddess of night didn’t have the gift of foresight.”
“Last time I checked, I still had the ear of the Fates, so do not doubt how far forward my eyes can see, my dear.”
That shut me up. Whatever it was she expected from me, whatever this crossroads I had coming, it was foretold by the Fates themselves. There was no power more infallible. I didn’t want to know anything more. No good could come from seeing the path my life would take. Call me crazy, but I’d prefer a little mystery.
I knew I’d die someday. I didn’t need to know the finer details.
“Why am I here?” I asked more quietly this time.
The air around us was still, stuffy. The silence was so complete it deafened me. No wind, no animal noises, not the usual chittering of insects. In spite of trees surrounding us on all sides, not even the sound of rustling leaves could be heard. It was eerie, this much silence.
I read somewhere there was a room researchers designed that was so quiet you could hear the blood rushing through your veins, and no one could stand to be left in there for longer than five minutes. At the time I’d read the article I thought it was silly. Who was afraid to be alone with the quiet?
Now I got it. Now I understood why humans were not meant for the night road.
After a while your mind would start to fill in the quiet with imagined voices.
I hoped to get out of here before that became a concern.
Hecate held her hand out to me, and I hesitated only briefly before taking it. At this point I was in her domain anyway. She could leave me here if she wanted, and I could imagine very little that would be worse than that.
“I want to show you something.”
We walked, and the road seemed to move the opposite way, ushering us forward at incredible speed. The trees were a blur beside us, until they slowed and stopped, and we found ourselves standing at a five-point crossroads.
“Welcome to the end of the night road. This is something not many living souls have seen before.”
“Is that because they all end up dead afterwards?” I sounded wary, not entirely sure I wanted to hear her answer.
“Some. But for the most part this is not meant for mortal eyes. This is where the spirits determine which way thei
r final journey will lead them.”
My skin went cold in spite of the stifling air. “This isn’t the crossroads you were telling me about?”
“No. I told you that would be symbolic. This one is very real, and you have a long way to go on your current journey before you will find yourself here.”
I let my breath out all at once, bracing my trembling hands on my thighs. I hadn’t realized until right then how much I wasn’t ready to die. I liked to talk a big game, pretending I could deal with the consequences of Manea’s threat, but the truth was I was pretty fond of living and didn’t want to give that up yet.
“So what does this have to do with Leo Marquette?” Might as well bring this discussion back to the information she’d promised me. The sooner I got out of here the better.
“Leo Marquette has been at this crossroad.”
My head spun. I needed to sit down. I needed a glass of water. Gods, I needed a vacation. “What?”
“Yes, he has stood where you are now, and he made the choice very few think to consider. He asked to go back.”
“I didn’t think demigods walked the night road.”
“The rules of their mortal half still apply. They have expiration dates, and when those come, they find themselves under my watchful eye.” She smiled at me, and icy fingers of fear tickled my spine. Now more than ever I wanted to get out of here and not come back until I really was dead.
“He’s a man then?”
“A man?” Hecate seemed confused by my word choice. “A human? A male? You must know the answer to these questions already. I believe you know he’s Seth’s son.”
“Yes, but Seth called him a child. Is he an adult? I need to know who I’m looking for.”
“He is grown, as you are.” She was amused by this question. “Would you like to see him?”
“Uh, yes.”
But I wanted to know more. How had Leo come here? Was that how Manea knew about him and why she was targeting Leo instead of some of Seth’s other children? If I wanted to hurt Seth, going after Sido would have been my choice. If Leo had died, even briefly, that meant Manea had gotten her hands on him once. Maybe finishing the job was what it would take to really stick it to the storm god.
