Pride Before A Fall (Book 21 in the Godhunter Series)

by Amy Sumida

“No, he's right.” I waved Trevor down. “I let Hermes sweep in and take over because I needed help. It was just too overwhelming at first. I couldn't manage to gather all of our allies and search for Lesya. I should have taken the reins instead of running through the realms looking for her without any direction beyond my random suspicions.”

  “I understand,” Thor said gently. “If my daughter was missing, I don't think I could just sit somewhere and manage the troops. I'd have to be out looking, doing something. Action helps, doesn't it?”

  “It does,” I agreed. “And now I have the knowledge I need to take the right actions.”

  “Just tell us where you want us, V,” Morpheus declared, his wings whooshing open like Azrael's do when the Angel of Death gets riled up.

  “First; Trevor, I need you to take this to the wolves,” I opened my hand and revealed the one thing that I'd saved from Sekhmet's palace: a piece of pale fabric.

  It was just a scrap I'd torn off of one of Sekhmet's gowns, but it would be all the Froekn needed to hunt the lioness. I ripped the piece in half and handed one to Trevor. He smiled maliciously as he took it from me.

  “I can smell her from here,” Kirill snarled.

  “Exactly,” I said as I handed Kirill the other half. “With her scent, we can track her. The Froekn can trace her wherever she's gone, even into the God Realm.”

  “I doubt that Sekhmet's in the God Realm anyway,” Horus drawled. “She doesn't have any friends there.”

  “But she has a sister,” Hekate pointed out. “Her twin. Bastet will do anything for Sekhmet.”

  Horus met my sharp stare and nodded. “We'll handle Bastet. Her wards will let me through. If she's hiding Sekhmet, we'll find her, Vervain. I swear it to you.”

  “Thank you,” I said sincerely.

  Horus and Hekate headed toward the tracing room.

  “I'll take this over to Father and then come straight back,” Trevor said. “Don't go anywhere without me, Minn Elska.” He kissed my cheek and rushed from the room.

  “Dang it,” I swore. “I should have told Trevor to ask Vejasmate if she can help too. She has another pack of wolves she could to add to the Froekn.”

  “I'll tell him!” Torrent jumped up and ran out just as Pan was coming back in. He bounced off of Pan's chest and fell backward onto the floor.

  “Torrent!” Pan gasped.

  “I'm mostly okay!” Torrent said with strained enthusiasm. He groaned as he got to his feet and shuffled after Trevor. “Trevor, hold on!”

  “Oops.” Pan grimaced. Then he saw our faces. “What did I miss?”

  “I'm directing the troops,” I said vaguely.

  “Oh, okay, but I just told Dad about Sekhmet, and he's sure that he can locate her. He has all of those contacts, and with that vein of Internet running through his territory–”

  “You got Torrent to run a line of Internet into Hermes's territory?” Azrael asked in shock. “And he did it? For Hermes?”

  “No.” Pan gave Azrael a strange look. “Dad's always been strong enough to hold his own line. He uses anchors on either end of the Aether to keep it open.”

  “Oh, right,” I huffed. I'd completely forgotten that there were other ways to get human technology into the God Realm. “Nyavirezi had something like that set up at Pride Palace when I first moved in.”

  “As I do with Hlidskjalf.” Odin nodded. “I'm not surprised that Hermes is capable of it. He has open pathways with numerous gods set up so that he can deliver the Herald. They probably help to strengthen his vein of Internet.”

  “The Internet!” I exclaimed. “Of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner?”

  “Torrent could search it for signs of Sekhmet.” Odin picked up on my idea right away. “Good thinking.”

  “Oh, Odin”–I shifted tracks suddenly; that's what happens when your emotions are zinging out of control while your mind is racing–“can you send the Valkyries to help the Froekn too? Maybe they can pair off with individual froekns and track Sekhmet from the sky.”

  “All right.” Odin gave me a concerned look–probably for my erratic behavior–as he pulled out his cell phone.

  “Kirill–”

  “Da,” he interrupted me and went out to the entry hall. “Intare!” His shout echoed back to us. “Time to hunt!”

  “Vervain, you were talking about the Internet,” Persephone reminded me gently.

  “Yes, I'm getting to that.” I held up my hand. “Bear with me, everyone. I'm working through this.”

  “Tell us what you need,” Teharon urged gently. “Should I contact the Thunderbirds?”

  “Yes, excellent idea, Teharon, thank you.” I smiled at him gratefully.

  “I'll go now.” Teharon got up and left with Karni Mata.

  “I've set up a watch on Sekhmet's palace,” Re said as he walked in. “The ruins of it, that is.”

  We all went silent.

  “If you don't want me here–” Re started to say.

  “No,” I interrupted. “Stay. This isn't your fault, Re. I'm sorry if I made you feel that it was.”

  “I made myself feel that way.” Re rubbed a hand roughly over his face, and I noticed how weary he looked.

  Re always looked amazing. Always. Even when I broke his heart and tried to send him away, he had looked amazing–sad, but amazing. Now, he looked almost human. The golden sheen to his skin had dulled, there were dark smudges beneath his eyes, his shoulders slumped, and his whole face seemed to just hang on his skull. Re looked like how I felt. Which meant that I must have looked far worse, and he must have felt far worse. But none of that mattered when my daughter was missing.

  “Re, do you think Sekhmet could have an Egyptian spell to hide her and Lesya?” Odin asked.

  “It's likely.” Re's expression shifted into intrigue. “The scrolls?”

  “The scrolls,” Odin agreed. “Will you help me search them?”

  “Of course,” Re said immediately.

  “We'll help as well, Father,” Vali said, and Vidar nodded his agreement.

  “Wonderful, let's go then.” Odin came over to kiss me goodbye. “We'll be in Valaskjalf if you need us. The Valkyries are already on their way to Fenrir's island. Don't go killing anyone without me again.”

  “I'll try not to.” I smirked at Odin, kissed my sons goodbye, then turned back to the others. “Persephone, do you think the sirens will help us search?”

  “They didn't do so well when they looked for me.” She grimaced. “And you realize that my mother cursed them for it? That's why they sing.”

  “No, I didn't know that.” I blinked in surprise. “Damn Demeter just loved blaming other... people,” I trailed off as I saw Persephone's face. “Sorry, Sephy. I shouldn't speak ill of the dead, especially when it's your mother.”

  “It's fine, I was just thinking the same thing,” Persephone said. “Mother could never take responsibility for her problems; they were always someone else's fault.”

  “We'll get the harpies to do it,” Hades offered, getting us off the Demeter topic. “They love to hunt.”

  “Good, thank you,” I said as the Intare filed in. “Intare, Sekhmet took Lesya. Kirill will give you her scent. Breathe deep, brothers, and help me find our missing cub.”

  The Intare started to growl, circling Kirill, who held out the scrap of material to them. I gave Kirill a nod, and he led our lions out. They began to roar as they traced away. It echoed hollowly back to us; a chilling sound.

  “Brahma–” I started.

  “The nagas?” He asked.

  I nodded.

  “I've already sent Sarasvati to them.” He smirked at me, and I realized that his wife had indeed left without my noticing. “She's going to organize our family as well. We have flying chariots that will come in quite handy. I just hope the glamours hold this time, and there isn't a rash of UFO sightings.”

  “Thank you, Brahma,” I said. “Well done.”

  Brahma gave me a smug look.

  “The vampires will join
the search as soon as night falls,” Eztli, Blue's wife, added. “They'll use my clubs as contact points, and report back to me if they find anything.”

  “It would help to have a photo of Sekhmet,” Blue suggested.

  “Re should have one,” I said.

  “We'll head over to Asgard and retrieve it right away,” Blue offered.

  “Thank you both,” I said sincerely.

  “The swans are already out searching,” Finn added. “They've met Sekhmet before, so they should be fine without a photograph. And they have contacts that will help us.”

  “I appreciate it, Finn.”

  “Anything you need, Vervain, just tell me,” he said softly. “For now, I'm going to go help them search.”

  “And I'll head into the Dream Realm,” Morpheus offered. “Now that I have someone to focus on, I should be able to find Sekhmet's dreams. All I have to do is wait until that bitch takes a nap.”

  “Excellent,” I agreed.

  “What can I do?” Pan asked.

  “You're with me,” Thor said. “We're going to pay a visit to Kanaloa.”

  “The mermaids,” Pan whispered in excitement. “Awesome! I love mermaids.”

  “We can take Kanaloa out in my ship,” Thor confirmed. “We'll serve as marine headquarters while the mermaids search the seas. You never know, maybe Sekhmet has taken Lesya on a boat or onto an island. It would be a brilliant move.”

  “With a boat, she'd have her own moving hideout,” I mused. “That would be brilliant.”

  “We can stay here and serve as contact for everyone,” Mrs. E. suggested as she took her husband's hand. “You can manage the searches through us while still being out there yourself, Vervain. You don't have to do one or the other.”

  “You're absolutely right,” I agreed. “That would be wonderful, thank you.”

  “We've told the twins about the situation.” Mr. T. held up his cell phone. “Naye and Toby are rallying our people to search. So, you'll have the best human trackers looking for Lesya too.”

  “Toby wanted me to tell you that–” Mrs. E began to say.

  “Now's not the time,” Mr. T cut her off.

  I frowned, but my attention was claimed by Az.

  “The demons are out looking too,” Azrael said. “And even some of the angels. Mike is searching the Heavens, all of them, on the off chance that Sekhmet has found a way in. She cannot possibly hide from all of us.”

  “No, she can't,” I snarled. “Especially when I add the imps to the mix.”

  “The imps?” Artemis asked. “But why, when you could just have Torrent search the Internet?”

  “Yeah, no problem, V,” Torrent affirmed. “Oh, and I was able to catch Trevor before he left. He said he'd send either Ty or UnnúlfR over to speak to Veja.”

  “Good.” I nodded. “And I know that you could search the Internet for me, Torr, but I need you to help me with something else; something even more important.”

  “What?” He asked eagerly.

  “The wolves may not be able to track Sekhmet through the Aether, but I can.” I smiled grimly. “We can, Torrent. And you can unmake any ward that tries to stand in our way. We're heading back to Hygieia's. But first, Lugh, I need you to mirror the imps, brief them on the situation, and send them into the Internet. Oh, and I need to go upstairs and grab myself a pair of glasses.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I strode past the shocked receptionist who sat directly outside of Hygieia's tracing room. She didn't even try to stop me. Smart woman. She must have warned Hygieia that I was coming, though, because Hygieia came striding out of her clinic to meet Torrent and me before we even reached the front door.

  “Vervain, I'm doing the best I can–” she started to say.

  “It was Sekhmet,” I interrupted her. “We're here to track her. I need access to the room Lesya was in.”

  “Sekhmet!” Hygieia's face transformed from concern into fury. “That horrible woman and her nasty, murderous husband! How can anyone be so evil?”

  “Yes, we're all very upset.” I leveled a hard stare on Hygieia. “And we're also very anxious to start our new search. Now, if you don't mind?”

  “Oh, of course.” She waved her hand behind her. “You know the way. It's been untouched since you left. I thought it might be best to treat it as a crime scene.”

  “Thank you.” I nodded. “It is a crime scene, and I intend to get some justice for it very soon.”

  “Make her suffer a little for me,” Hygieia growled.

  I stopped and gave her a surprised look.

  “She didn't just betray you, Vervain,” Hygieia pointed out. “She betrayed the sanctity of motherhood. She took a child, and she took that child from my care. I hold myself responsible for not keeping your daughter safe, but I hold her responsible for being a monster.”

  “We're good, Hygieia.” I held out my hand to her. “I know the kind of magic that Sekhmet and Ptah have available to them. I don't hold you responsible any longer.”

  “I appreciate that”–she shook my hand–“I deeply appreciate it. But I still want that bitch's head on a spike.”

  “Oh, believe me, so do I,” I muttered as I headed into the clinic.

  “You guys are so vish,” Torrent whispered as we headed through the hallways. “I love it.”

  “Prepare yourself,” I said to him as I pushed the door open and strode into Lesya's old room, “because it's about to get even more vicious.”

  I pulled out Tlaloc's far-seeing glasses. With them, I could not only see the truth of who a person really was; I could see the trail of energy they left behind in their wake. The Froekn used to be the best trackers in the god world. Then I became a dragon, and we discovered that my dragon nose was an even better sniffer. But Tlaloc's goggles surpassed both wolves and dragons when it came to following a trail.

  I put on the glasses and looked around. I already knew Sekhmet's smell, and the glasses would translate that into a visual trail for me. I was expecting to see it all over the room. But Sekhmet's trail wasn't there. I switched gears and focused on Ptah. It had been awhile since I'd met the guy, but I had three beasts within me, and they never forgot a scent. I searched the room for a remnant of colored light to match Ptah.

  But he wasn't there either.

  “Impossible!” I hissed.

  “What's wrong?” Torrent asked.

  “Neither of them have been here.”

  “They must have been here,” Torrent said reasonably.

  “I don't see any trail belonging to either of them,” I protested as I yanked off the thick glasses. “It's just dark. Shadows everywhere, no light at all.”

  “Could they have hired someone to do their dirty work?” Torrent asked.

  “Doubtful,” Hygieia said from the doorway. “Our security measures are strong; whatever surmounted them had to be even stronger.”

  “And you don't think that they could have hired someone with that kind of magic?” Torr asked.

  “Gods with magic that massive wouldn't have to hire themselves out,” I said before Hygieia could. “No, they had to have done this themselves.”

  “The block,” Torrent whispered. “The spell that cut you off from Lesya, and Sekhmet from Re; do you think it could wipe out all traces of them? Perhaps that's why all you can see is darkness. The magic is dampening their trails.”

  “Fuck!” I screamed.

  Torrent flinched, but Hygieia stared at me steadily.

  “If I can't track Sekhmet, then no one can,” I snarled. “Our efforts are useless. All of these searches are in vain. I should just call it all off and stop wasting everyone's time.”

  “No effort is useless,” Hygieia chided me. “We will continue searching, with or without a trail. I have some contacts to call. They'll assist us too. We may not have anything physical to go on, but we have a name. We know who took Lesya, and when the gods themselves are hunting you, you can't hide for long.”

  “Ain't that the truth,” Torrent whi
spered.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I returned to Pride Palace feeling like an utter failure as both a mother and a hunter. My daughter needed me, and I couldn't seem to do anything right. Perhaps it was best that I stayed out of the actual searching and just managed things from home. Mrs. E. and Mr. T. gave me sympathetic looks as soon as they saw me walk in. Even they knew that I was a failure.

  Torrent explained what had happened so that I wouldn't have to. I just walked past them and went into the kitchen. Being brave takes its toll and so does being angry. If I wanted to keep myself from falling apart, I needed something to numb the pain and allow me to lick my wounds. I needed a drink.

  Too bad I was a goddess.

  God healing was fantastic, except when you wanted to get drunk. Then it was just a pain in the ass. In my current situation, it was probably a good thing that I couldn't get drunk. I shouldn't be passed out when word came in about Lesya. But honestly, when you're staring down the barrel of a mental breakdown, you don't worry about passing out... you kind of hope for it.

  I pulled three bottles of wine out of the cupboard. I had a plan: I'd keep pounding back the alcohol until... hold on. I put the wine back and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels and one of Jim Beam. They wouldn't keep me drunk either, but if I slammed them back fast enough, they might give me a taste of oblivion.

  “Oh Jack,” I sighed like a lover. “Jim. Boys, have I told you how much I love you?” I cradled them in my arms as I walked out of the kitchen and past the concerned group of gods in my dining hall. “I want you right now. Both of you,” I purred as I got into the elevator, “inside me.” I kissed the bottles. “At the same time. Oh, sweet cinnamon buns, I'm talking dirty to bottles of liquor. I really am losing my mind.”

  I shrugged and hit the button for the top floor of Pride Palace. Oh well, when madness had you, you might as well make the most of it. I'd just smile like the Cheshire Cat and have a tea party... with a little more party in my tea. When I reached the top floor, I got out of the elevator and carried my bottle boyfriends into my bedroom. Then I settled down on my bed for some serious alcohol erotica. I unscrewed Jack's cap and took a long swallow.