by Amy Sumida
Arach used his ring far less than I and didn't have to worry about consequences as much. He could pop over to the God Realm whenever I needed him and return to Faerie moments after he left. We didn't even have to worry about someone watching our sons. Although, that wasn't an issue anyway. Rian and Brevyn had a herd of nannies. It takes a village where those boys are concerned. Or an entire castle, rather.
“Oh,” Odin said instead of whatever had been on the tip of his tongue. “I see. So, Faerie didn't help?”
“We must acquire this destiny tablet to heal our wife,” Arach announced.
“Faerie said the same thing that Al did,” I added as I flipped the pancake. “Sit down, Arach. We won't be going to war right this second.”
Arach sniffed the air like a hungry dog and his stare zeroed in on the stack of pancakes, set on a plate near the stove. “Pancakes? I love pancakes.”
“I know. You ate nearly as much as Rian did when you were here last.” I chuckled. “Coffee is ready too if you want a cup.”
Arach made a rumble of interest as he prowled toward the carafe. “I suppose we should fuel ourselves first.”
“What's the Dragon doing here?” Trevor asked as he came down the stairs on my right, just a few feet away from the stove.
“Mama!” Vero leaned out of his father's arms toward me, forcing Trevor to shift his grip.
“No, baby. Stay with your daddy. Mama's making breakfast.” I kissed Vero's pudgy cheek, the scent of wolf musk and moonlight shimmering over me.
I've never liked the scent of babies. I thought there was something wrong with me. My friends would all wax poetic about the smell of a baby, but I thought they smelled gross. I assumed that I wasn't meant to be a mother. Then I caught a whiff of a faerie child and everything clicked. I wasn't meant to be a mother of human babies. Magical babies smelled amazing to me; those were the kind of children I was meant to have.
“Pancakes,” Vero whispered eagerly as he settled back against his father, his stare focusing on the food.
I went back to cooking with another laugh; it's funny how food can have such an effect on people. Even Trevor made a happy growl of anticipation as he took our son to his high chair and started strapping him in.
“Vervain has spoken to both Alaric and Faerie this morning,” Odin answered Trevor's question.
“And what did they have to say?” Azrael came down the stairs on the far side of the room, looking sleep-tousled and sexy in only a pair of jeans.
“Hold on a moment.” Odin cocked his head. “I hear the others coming, and it would be better if we didn't have to repeat all of this.”
Az and Trevor exchanged greetings with Arach while they fixed their coffee. By the time they were done, Re, Viper, Kirill, and Lesya had joined us. I finished frying several stacks of pancakes while the men set the table and fixed drinks for the children. Then, when we were all seated with plates of food before us, Odin and I quickly summed up what had happened.
“So, we aren't going to see the Fates?” Viper asked.
“Not today,” Odin said with a look my way. “I don't think they'd have anything helpful to add.”
“All right; we go after the Tablet.” Azrael nodded. “It'll be easier with Al as our lookout and this time, we'll have the element of surprise on our side.”
“We may need more than that,” Odin muttered. “I've been looking into this god. Marduk's got a lot of power under his belt, one of his magics is actually magic.”
“The God of Magic, eh?” Viper lifted a brow. “That's a nice catch-all.”
“Yes, it is.” Odin smirked. “As a god of Magic myself, I understand better than most what kind of leeway that gives him. But the point is; Marduk has a lot of tricks up his sleeves, and he's an opportunist. When Tiamat was avenging her husband, Marduk saw it as a chance to gain power. He didn't become the Mesopotamians' champion out of the goodness of his heart; he did it for a price. Marduk made them swear loyalty to him, but that wasn't really what he was after. He wanted to fight Tiamat's armies because he knew that she had given the Tablet of Destinies to her new consort and general, Kingu. Marduk killed Kingu and took the Tablet, knowing that once he had it, he could easily defeat Tiamat and then use it to rule his pantheon. He's devious and nearly unstoppable when he's wearing that thing. We need to catch him without it on or we risk him using it on us and, as Teharon said, that's something we want to avoid at all costs.”
“I have a tablet you can use,” Lesya offered sweetly. “Mommy made it for me. I play games on it but I can play with something else if you need it.”
I gave Odin a pointed look before I answered her. “Thank you, baby, but this is a different kind of tablet.”
We shouldn't have been having that conversation in front of the children, but the men were anxious so they took it a little further despite my obvious cue to shelve it for later.
“You're staying home this time, Vervain,” Odin said. “We'll go after the Tablet and bring it back to you.”
“But—” I started to argue.
“No, A Thaisce,” Arach growled. “You're too weak now. Odin's right; you need to stay home with your babies. We will handle this. Al will help us. It will be a piece of pancake.” He lifted another bite to his mouth and grinned at me as he ate.
I made an amused snort at his play on the phrase.
“Can we have another tea party, Mommy?” Lesya asked hopefully.
“Tea,” Vero said in a strangely somber tone.
I pasted on a smile for my children. “Later this afternoon maybe. You just ate.” I glanced at my men and nodded.
They'd get their way... this time.
Chapter Fourteen
Kirill stayed home with me so I wouldn't have to worry alone. My men didn't want a large group going after Marduk anyway. They were hoping to pull off what we hadn't last time; a surprise attack. Torrent was going along to open the wards with his unmaking magic, but he'd be staying in the Aether—in a vein of the Internet Realm to be exact—to keep the way home open for everyone. Sin offered to go as well but there were already six men who'd be tracing directly into Marduk's bedroom; more than enough for a covert operation.
The team waited until Al gave us an all's clear and then traced over. Marduk was sound asleep and the Tablet was resting on a stand beside the bed. It was the perfect opportunity. Kirill, the children, and I saw the men off before we headed outside. To the right of the palace, our left, there was a playground I'd made for the children, including a mini castle. Zariel was already on the swings, her mother sitting on a rattan loveseat nearby. Lesya went running for her friend, and Vero tried to fling himself after her.
“Whoa there, baby.” I wrangled him upright. “You're not big enough for the swings yet.”
“Swing!” Vero cried.
“Make him baby swing,” Kirill suggested as we wandered over to the set. “One of zose with holes for legs.”
“Oh. Sure, I can do that.” I passed Vero to Kirill. “Hey, Sam.”
“Hiya,” she called back. “Whatchu up to?”
“I'm going to make Vero a baby swing seat.”
“Ohhh... territory magic. Zariel, watch your aunty, she's about to do something cool.”
Zariel and Lesya both stopped pumping their legs and let their swings slow to a stop as I approached the swing on the end. Territory magic is pretty simple once you get the concept down; most God magic is. It's human magic that needs a lot of chants and accouterments to make it work. But then, humans who have magic, get it from trace amounts of Fey blood in their ancestry. So, they have to use pieces of Nature and the Elements to connect with it. Gods have a lot more of the stuff to work with.
I grabbed the heavy chains and concentrated on the rubber seat between them. In my mind, I saw the baby seat I wanted it to become. I even added a seatbelt for extra safety. A blur of light coated the swing as it shifted, transforming into the picture I had in my mind. My magic fueled this territory which meant that it had to obey me. It did so quickly
; within seconds, the baby swing had replaced the previous version. Samantha and the girls started clapping as if I'd performed a trick.
“Thank you. Thank you.” I curtsied to my audience, making the girls giggle.
“Mama!” Vero cried excitedly. “Swing!”
“Da, swing!” Kirill lifted Vero into the air and flew the giggling baby around, landing him in the new baby seat.
“Uncle Keyree!” Vero clapped his hands together.
Kirill beamed at the little boy as he strapped him in. “Okay, ve swing now. Da?”
“Da!” Vero cried, bouncing in his seat.
Kirill went behind Vero and gave him a little push. My son surged forward and the expression on his face was one I'd treasure forever. Honey-eyes round, mouth in a matching O, and hands extended as if to embrace the world. It was pure, child joy. And his laugh; it made my chest constrict to hear it. These were the moments I wished for more of. The moments I'd have to savor because there would be so few of them. Vero's advanced growth would slow at a certain age, but by then he'd be a boy, not a baby. At least I'd have those years to enjoy slowly.
“Daddy, push me!” Lesya demanded.
I shared a knowing look with Kirill. Children get jealous of each other in normal family units but in one like ours, where each child has a different father, it made things even more sensitive. Normally, Lesya was good about sharing her father, but Vero had just gotten a lot of attention from both of her parents. She needed a little reassurance.
“Go ahead. I have him.” I took Kirill's place.
Kirill kissed my cheek before he went to push Lesya. Our daughter squealed as he sent her flying high. Then he scooted over and gave Zariel a push and set her to shrieking too. Kirill is good like that, making sure that no child feels left out. It made me warm and fuzzy to see it; how great a father he is. I pushed Vero gently and soaked in my family. This was perfect; just what I needed. I was glad I'd stayed—
He's up! You've got to stop them! Al shrieked in my mind.
“What?” I went still, my hands hovering in midair before me. Vero bounced back against my belly and jolted me.
“Vhat is it?” Kirill went on alert instantly.
Marduk just got a text! It woke him up. You need to—oh, fuck. Fuck!
Chills rushed down my spine. In my panic, crazy things ran through my mind. Things like; have I ever heard Alaric curse before? And; who is texting Marduk? What would someone text him? Hey, we're going to pizza, you wanna come?
Vervain, Marduk has Trevor!
“Vervain!” Kirill was shaking me.
I blinked and focused on Kirill in horror. “Marduk has Trevor.”
“Vhat!?” Kirill roared.
Then he started running for the palace.
Stop him! Alaric shouted. They're outnumbered! They have to leave Trevor behind.
“Kirill!” I screamed. The sound was so full of pain and panic that Kirill came to a stumbling stop.
The children started to wail.
Sam rushed over to me and pulled Vero out of his swing. “Go! I've got them.” She pushed me toward Kirill as she bounced Vero on her hip. “Shh now, Mama's just got to go do something. Everyone calm down. It's okay.”
I ran over to Kirill, took his hand, and rushed inside the palace with him as I brokenly explained, “Al says they're leaving Trevor behind. They have to. They—”
The men were coming out of the tracing room as we entered the foyer. The looks on their faces were enough to confirm Al's report.
“No,” I sobbed and crumpled against Kirill.
Kirill caught me and held me to his chest as he glared at the men. “You left him?!” he roared. “You just left him?!”
“I'm so sorry, V,” Torrent whispered. “I didn't even know what was happening. I was waiting in the Aether.”
“We didn't have a choice,” Odin said with a stricken expression. “Marduk...” Odin let out a curse and rubbed a hand over his face.
“He was awake when we got there,” Viper said soberly. “As soon as he saw us, he shouted for backup. We were outnumbered in seconds.”
“Your magic is greater than any of zeirs!” Kirill shouted.
“You don't understand,” Azrael said softly. “The first thing Marduk did was grab Trevor with one hand and the Tablet with the other. He threatened to unmake Trevor's future if we didn't leave. He said something about not having to chant when he was holding his target.”
“What?” I whispered as I looked up from Kirill's chest.
My mind was spinning. This wasn't the first time someone had taken Trevor from me, but it was the first time that someone had the power to do far more than kill him. But why?
“Why would he threaten that?” I asked aloud. “Why not simply do it?”
“Trevor was leverage,” Arach snarled. “Marduk used him to force us out.”
“That's not why Marduk grabbed Trevor,” Sin's voice spun us into his direction. He stood within the doorway of the dining hall, looking grim and angry. “He'll use Trevor to get to you, Vervain. You're the one he wants.”
“That motherfucker,” Ninkasi hissed as she stepped up beside Sin. “He won't just use him as leverage, he'll torture Trevor until he gets you.”
“And probably wring him for information on you,” Sin added.
“Trevor won't talk,” Re said firmly. “He'd die before he'd betray us.”
“Which will make it worse for him.” Ninkasi grimaced. “Believe me, I know.”
“What did Marduk mean about not chanting, Sin?” I swung my stare to the Moon God's.
“If Marduk is touching his victim and the Tablet at the same time, he becomes a conduit,” Sin explained. “He doesn't have to activate the Tablet's magic or explain what he wants to it through a chant. The magic flows from the Tablet, through him, taking his intentions with it, and goes straight into the target.”
“You were right to leave him,” Ninkasi said softly. “Marduk could have rewritten Trevor's future in an instant.”
“I will fucking destroy him!” I roared.
All of my beasts echoed within the sound and the entire palace seemed to hold its breath. A second later, the sound of footsteps thundered down the stairs as the Intare came running to my call. As my men stared at me expectantly, my lions gathered around us.
“Tima!” They shouted together.
“Intare, we hunt!” I shouted back.
The Intare roared loud enough to set the palace to trembling around us. It lifted my heart and set my blood to rushing. Claws extended from my fingers, but I couldn't tell what kind they were; dragon, lion, or wolf. I didn't care; any or all of them would do. I was going to get my mate back right now. I started for the tracing room.
Stop! Alaric shouted in my mind.
I didn't even flinch. “No.”
Vervain, Marduk will destroy Trevor before you get within two feet of him!
I stopped. The Intare went still behind me.
If you love Trevor, you will plan this carefully. You can't go storming in to save him. Think, Vervain! Think! Don't just react!
My whole body shook with rage and fear.
“Vervain?” Kirill laid a hand on my shoulder.
“Al says—”
“Vervain!” Ty came running out of the tracing room.
“Ty?” I blinked at my brother-in-law in confusion.
“Some smug asshole just traced to Moonshine and pinned this to our front door with a knife!” Ty held out an envelope and a scrap of cloth. “This smells like my brother, V! What the fuck is going on? Where is Trevor?”
“Well, he didn't waste any time, did he?” Re huffed.
“Marduk has Trevor,” I murmured as I took the envelope from Ty. I pulled out a sheet of paper and read, “You have fifteen minutes. Don't be late.” I slid a photograph out of the envelope and held it up. “Anyone recognize this place?”
“Let me through,” I heard Sin say. Then he was standing before me. He took the photo and grimaced. “This is in Saudi Ar
abia. It's where Marduk killed Tiamat.”
“Poetic,” I growled. “Fifteen minutes; he's nearly as anxious as I am.”
“He doesn't want to give us time to summon our allies,” Odin concluded.
“We don't need allies,” Arach growled. “We have two dragons.”
