"You might say that.” Thoth leaned close, hand grasping Loki's sleeve. “I found the key to moving between universes,” he whispered. “I've been to the Enemy's Homeworld."
"You've what?"
"When you last saw me I was studying with the Asian masters—Chinese sorcerers of great power, right?"
Loki shrugged. “I'll have to take your word for that. You know magic isn't my thing."
"Well, believe me, they could've stopped the moon in its orbit if they'd wanted to. Seriously. They're the ones that first found the key to crossing timelines. They refused to use it, said it went against nature or something like that."
"So you picked it up and used it, eh?"
"Seemed like the thing to do. I traveled between the universes, visiting some the Enemy has already taken, and some they've never even set foot on. There's one, down the line, where vampires rule the world in secret."
Loki raised an eyebrow. “Vampires?"
Thoth nodded. “Hard to believe, isn't it? But the real lesson was when I visited their Homeworld. It's nothing like we would have ever imagined.” He reached into the pocket of his long coat and pulled out a small wooden box. He pressed it into Loki's hand. “In this box you'll find something—three somethings, actually—that I liberated from the Enemy's innermost stronghold."
::He's telling the truth,:: came Renee's silent voice, echoing in his head. It wasn't the first time she'd done that, but it still shook him a little. ::Take the box.::
Loki couldn't help himself. He found the latch with a fingernail and flicked it open; started to raise the lid. Thoth's hand on the box stopped him short. “Don't open it here. Take it back to your lab."
"You know about my lab?"
He stared at him through narrowed eyes. “I know you, Loki. When I returned and got a good look at the technology this world possesses now, I knew you'd have one set up. Take those to the lab, analyze them, and do with them what you will. It's too bad you don't have Hades to assist, but I suppose Athena will do."
"Hades?"
"You don't know—” Thoth's jaw dropped. “He must've used one of his powers on you all. What could have prompted him...?” He turned suddenly, blue eyes flaring. “We have company."
Renee stepped from the shadows, dark hair plastered to her head by the rain.
Thoth raised a hand, stilling himself as Loki stepped between them. “She's with me,” the Trickster said.
"I told you to come alone,” Thoth growled.
"And since when did I do what I was told?” Loki asked.
"Good point,” Thoth admitted. He inclined his head to Renee. “Nice to meet you."
She returned the gesture. “I'm Renee, by the way. Loki's not the best at introductions."
"Never has been,” Thoth replied casually, the harsh lines of his face softening a little. Then he twitched slightly. “Hey. You're a vampire..."
She shot Loki a stunned look. He just shrugged. “I guess his visit to that world that vampires rule gave him some sort of insight."
Thoth's eye's flicked back and forth between them. “There are vampires here, too?"
"Well ... a couple,” Loki confessed. “Let's just say I'm accident-prone."
"I have the feeling there's a story behind that,” Thoth observed. “Care to share?"
"Out here, in the rain?” Loki fixed him with an incredulous look. “I don't think so. Why, by the way, did you want to meet here, of all places?"
"It's secluded, hard to reach, and hard to escape,” Thoth replied. “Not, however, if you own your own boat. I should have thought of that."
"Care to take a boat trip?” Loki asked him. “It's a little wet, but ... refreshing."
* * * *
Ten minutes later they were skipping across the Sound, throwing up a thirty-foot rooster tail behind them. Thoth stood at the bow, soaked to the skin, grinning like a fool. “This is amazing!” he cried out.
Loki and Renee exchanged glances, then smiled at one another. Thoth's shell hadn't just broken, it had shattered into a million pieces.
Twelve
Clothes in tatters, half-melted to his skin, Deryk Shea limped toward the massive set of double doors at the end of the long hallway. His cold blue eyes locked on the massive winged figure standing guard and his mouth curled into a silent snarl.
The wings unfurled like a cloak of midnight from behind the creature. A thick black arm reached out, pulling a blazing sword of black fire out of nothingness. “I know you,” he said, in a voice like thunder rolling overhead.
"You don't want to do this,” Shea warned in a weary voice. “Believe me."
The creature charged, letting loose a bestial roar, mouth distended, fangs bared. Shea met him within two steps, ducking inside the swing of the creature's arm and firing a full-force punch into his chest. He had to reach up quite a distance to do it, but the impact rocked the creature back on his heels, wings unfurling once again in an attempt to keep his balance.
The monster's empty fist crashed into the side of Shea's head, sending him reeling. He recovered quickly, however, springing up with blurring speed and literally climbing his opponent's much larger frame. Fingers like steel barbs sank through the creature's thick skin as Shea smashed a knee into his face.
As the trunk-like arms came up to grab at him, he hurled himself up and over the beast's back, planting his feet firmly in the center of the powerful muscle mass between the wings. He slid a hand under the creature's jaw and yanked upward.
The spine snapped, the crack echoing like a shotgun blast down the corridor. As he toppled forward, Shea spun and hurled himself at the double doors. The force of the collision tore the doors from their moorings.
Shea landed lightly on three points, crouched in the entry with one hand pressed against the stone floor. “Hades!"
* * * *
All three of them sat in Loki's living room with only the sound of rain and distant thunder breaking the silence. If he didn't know better, Loki would've sworn Thoth wasn't accustomed to being inside. He seemed distinctly discomfited, though it could have been the company. Depends on what kind of experience he's had with vampires, I suppose. But it didn't seem to be Renee in particular. It was almost like he needed to say something, but was afraid to bring it up.
Something had affected him deeply, that much was certain. Deep enough that he'd suddenly hit his ‘mute’ button.
He sat on one side of the sofa cradling a steaming cup of latte he'd been simply astounded to taste. He'd complimented it in glowing terms after his first sip, then, as soon as they left the kitchen, completely clammed up.
His eyes looked haunted, Loki noticed, as if he'd seen things he might never share. He and Renee exchanged glances. She gave him a brief nod, stood up, and excused herself. “So what the hell's wrong with you?” he asked Thoth after she'd left.
The somber immortal met his gaze, then shifted his eyes away. “You ever wish things might have gone differently—back home, I mean?"
Loki could only shake his head. “Differently how?"
"I've been to worlds where they've surrendered. Just given up. We fought tooth and nail—hard enough that they wiped out our whole civilization in retaliation. I remember wondering, back before I left, if maybe it would've gone easier on us if we would have just rolled over and let them take what they wanted.
"I don't wonder anymore, Loki. The thought of it makes me sick inside. I've been to maybe a hundred worlds they've ground under their heels. Nothing could prepare you for what I saw."
"You either really want to talk about it, or you'd rather do anything but."
Thoth snorted. “I wish I knew which. Whatever we do, we can't let them have this world."
Loki smiled grimly and filled him in on what he'd been working on. Thoth stared at him for a long, still moment, then laughed long and hard. “You crazy bastard. You're either an absolute genius, or a fucking madman."
"Maybe a little of both,” Loki admitted. “So, care to tell me what we'd have to look f
orward to if I weren't?"
Thoth chewed a little on his lower lip. “The Enemy seems to believe all life exists for their pleasure—for their experimentation. Nothing is sacred. They create human/animal hybrids to guard their more secure facilities. Wolverines and badger crosses, primarily, though they use canine and feline breeds to track rebels or escapees.
"A lot of the pure humans consider them the Enemy's ‘pets’ and despise them. They're just as trapped, though, and probably suffer more in general than the humans do.
"What really gets me are the hybrids you won't recognize on sight—dogs and other beasts with human intelligence, trapped in the guise of dumb animals. Even creatures that would normally be household pets are regarded with suspicion and suffer horrendous abuse at the hands of the humans. Anything could be a spy for their ‘Masters'."
Loki shuddered. “How could you stand it? To walk among them, I mean. It must have been like a vacation through hell."
"That's a good description. I'm telling you, I'm willing to do anything to prevent it happening again, if I can. So where are the other immortals?"
"Wherever.” Loki shrugged. “Shea has managed to gather a few, but most are either making themselves scarce or actively working against him. We've been pretty much on our own the whole time, remember. He didn't want authority at the beginning, and now he couldn't get it even if he did want it."
"Who does he have?"
"Athena is pretty much his right hand these days. Hermes works for him in some capacity or another. I help out occasionally."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Thor's trying to organize an active resistance—they don't want to take orders from anyone, but him least of all."
"What about Thorne?"
"Now there's the twenty-thousand dollar question. I don't know. I know he was around for the Gathering, but I dropped one of my ... lab rats ... on him and they both disappeared."
"I would've assumed he was on Deryk's side."
"He is. Just occupied for the moment. You'd know how that goes, wouldn't you? He's teaching the girl magic."
"Pretty involved. So she's the first human mage in about six hundred years, is she?” His eyes took on a crafty light. “Say, you wouldn't have another young female would-be mage floating around anywhere, would you?"
"Not yet. I'll let you know.” Loki beamed at him, radiating insincerity.
Thoth chuckled. “That's okay. In the meantime, while I try to get a handle on this world again, you mind if I take advantage of your hospitality?"
Loki shook his head. “Feel free. Just avoid the basement."
"Why—what's in the basement?"
"Another vampire. This one isn't so ... civilized."
"Another story you haven't told me?"
"Something like that. I needed to know how it all worked, so I had Renee snatch some joker off the street and fang him to death. A few nights later, he rose from the dead and started howling for blood. We're feeding him pig's blood, but I'm sure he'd like to gnosh on an immortal."
"Gnosh,” Thoth repeated slowly. “Interesting word. Very well. I will avoid the basement and therefore any chance that he might ‘gnosh’ on me."
Loki nodded. “Good.” He shot a glance out the window. “It's getting near dawn. I'm going to head into the city for a few hours. You want to come, or stay here?"
"I've been avoiding cities since I arrived,” Thoth told him. “I'd prefer to continue to do so for the time being."
"Fine. Oh—you might also want to avoid the room at the very end of the hallway. It's Renee's. Take my word for it. Even in the middle of the day she can defend herself."
"I'll be a perfect gentleman,” Thoth assured him.
"Otherwise, make yourself at home. I should be back before noon."
* * * *
He stopped in to say goodbye to Renee, who he found lying on her bed with her nose in a book, eyes scanning the pages almost as quickly as she could turn them. She set it down and sat up. “You're off?"
He nodded. “I need to run that box by the lab, then stop by and see Deryk. He needs to know Thoth is back."
"Do you think that's wise? I mean, unless Thoth asked you to..."
He shrugged, throwing on a grin. “He didn't ask me not to."
She rolled her eyes at him. “You're impossible."
"Merely improbable. I'll see you tonight.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you."
"I love you too, you rogue. Get out of here."
* * * *
Athena frowned. “He's gone?"
"Gone.” Shea's administrative assistant looked downright put-upon. Probably been repeating that line all morning. “Where'd he go?"
"I don't know,” the woman replied, pushing her glasses farther up her nose and managing, somehow, to look down at her even though she was sitting and Athena wasn't. Now that's a talent. Her name was Marianne, Athena recalled. Usually brisk, business-like, and absolutely unflappable. Not now. Shea doesn't go anywhere, she thought. She's probably freaking out and trying to hide it.
"He left something for you,” Marianne said, leaning over and producing a plain manila envelope from somewhere behind her desk. “You can use his office, if you'd like."
I can? Now that surprised her more than Shea being gone. No one was ever allowed in his office if he wasn't there. It was like a cardinal rule. A physical law. She blinked at her.
"That's what he said. Now, if you don't mind, I've got a million things to do."
"Oh. Of course.” She took the envelope and vanished through the office door.
* * * *
Dear Athena, the letter began. If you're reading this, I've been gone longer than I expected to be. I might not be coming back. She read the line a few more times before it sank in. I am tending to something I should have taken care of a long time ago.
None of you will remember this, but I wasn't the only member of the Mythrender crew to survive Thanatos. My second in command and science officer, Hades, also made it through. He came to Earth with us. Something happened to him. Something I can't explain. He went off the deep end, I guess. He started out helping Loki create his army of monsters, but carried it much farther.
I was forced to ask Thorne to exile him to a pocket dimension and seal the gateway. Recent events have made me consider the possibility he might be behind the goblin scourge. I don't know how. But it has his signature all over it.
I believe that if anyone can kill me, it will be Hades. I half expect it. It's not as though I want to die needlessly, but this has to be done.
In one way this may be for the best. You might not believe me, but you are much more suited to lead the immortals than I've ever been. I am a fighter, plain and simple. A teacher. Not a leader.
So I'm officially handing over the title of ‘cat herder’ to you. I know you'll find a way to bring them all together to fight the Enemy in a way I never could. People instinctively trust you. That may not be a Power, but it's significant nonetheless. People trust you because you have something special—empathy. Not the psychic ability, like Bladesworth or even Stone, but empathy in the way psychologists mean it. You know where people are coming from, even if it's from left field.
If I'm not back in a week, my lawyers have instructions to open a sealed package much like the one you received this letter in. In that package is my most recent will—leaving Shea Industries to you, as well as all my other worldly possessions. You are my chosen heir. And you need not worry—you don't have stockholders to deal with. The only ones besides myself who own shares of Shea Industries are the employees, and they are not voting shares.
Just don't run it into the ground. You're going to need it.
It might surprise you to read this, but you're like the daughter I never had. I watched your strength and vitality fade away after what happened in France, Athena, and it pained me to witness it. The guillotine might not have taken your life, but it stole your will. I've done my part to give it back to you.
If I don't
return, be aware that Hades may be loosed back on the world. He is a dangerous man, and not one to take lightly. He has two prime Powers—the ability to make people forget what he wants them to forget, and the ability to animate the dead. Both are formidable talents.
Be wary. Trust only those your heart tells you to trust. I believe your friend the lady cop is a good one and I wish there was some way to make her one of us. But she's not the first person I've met I've felt that way about. Some wishes will never be granted, as we both know.
My last word of advice? Make use of those you can, but choose your friends and allies wisely.
With Undying Affection,
Deryk
She folded the letter up, slid it into the envelope, and sat there stunned for a minute. It was difficult to imagine the world without Shea in it. Me, a leader? What was he thinking? Her head spun.
She pushed herself out of his chair and headed for the door, just as it opened. “Ma'am?"
She sighed. “I wish you wouldn't call me that. My name is Athena.” For the hundredth time.
"Whatever you say, Ma'am. There's someone here to see you."
"Me?"
"Yes, Ma'am. He asked to see Mr. Shea first, but says he'd be happy to talk to you in his stead. Should I send him in?"
That entirely depends on who it is, doesn't it? “Is it someone Shea would want to see?"
The question seemed to take Marianne by surprise. “I imagine so. He's a friend of yours, actually. Loki?"
"Why didn't you just say so?” Athena growled. “Send him in."
Marianne nodded and turned to leave but Athena stopped her with a word. “Ma'am?"
"Did Deryk give you instructions on what to do if he disappeared like this?"
Marianne winced visibly. “Yes, ma'am.” She seemed oddly reluctant to admit it.
"And these instructions were...?"
"To offer you all the assistance I could."
"Okay. Thank you, Marianne."
The woman nodded and exited. A moment later Loki walked in, looked around, and grinned at her. “So ... while the boss is away, you're in charge?"
"Something like that,” she grunted, tossing the letter to him.
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