by P. C. Cast
“I don’t know how this is possible, but here’s the truth. We take love with us when we die, but it’s like our souls get washed of all the bad stuff and when that happens, we no longer feel sadness or longing. We love without all that other crap. So, my feelings for you haven’t changed—actually, if anything they’re deeper than they were when I was alive—but I don’t miss you. It’s just love here—always love.”
“It’s hard because it’s not like that for the people you leave behind.”
“I know. And I’m really sorry. But you know what makes the missing easier to bear?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, Aphrodite smiled and continued, “Loving again. Living a life full of adventures. Putting yourself out there. Promise me you’ll try.”
“I promise,” he said softly.
Stark cleared his throat. “Even though a ghost will probably label me grumpy. Again. I gotta remind you that the clock is ticking and Neferet is ahead of us. Can we please get going?”
Aphrodite flipped back her hair. “I am not a ghost. And you are grumpy. Dying would definitely help your attitude.”
Stark blanched chalk white.
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. “Oh, for shit’s sake—I’m just kidding. I’m good, but I can’t cause your death. And I wouldn’t even if I could. Relax and take that stick out of your ass.”
Stark frowned at her. “I thought you said that there was only love here.”
“I said it with love.” She returned his frown with a grin. “Okay, so, Neferet didn’t die when she fell from the stadium, right?”
“Right,” said Kevin. “She escaped to the Scottish highlands. Loren Blake somehow got into contact with her and told her about the Other World.”
“Great—and probably also told her that the Neferet over there is immortal and entombed.”
Stark nodded. “Yeah, we think so. She killed Loren, so we have no way of knowing how much he told her.”
“Though he didn’t know all that much,” continued Kevin. “He did manage to leave us a clue about Skye before he died. We followed the clue and met with Queen Sgiach.”
“Seriously? What’s she like?”
“Intimidating and really smart,” said Kevin.
“Scary and beautiful,” added Stark.
“She sounds awesome.”
Kevin nodded. “She is. It’s because of her that we’re here. She called the sprites and Oak told her that Neferet used Old Magick to go through the portal to Zoey’s world.”
At the mention of Oak, Aphrodite looked away.
“Crap,” Kevin said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything about Oak.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s just weird thinking about how I died. Like, I remember being in your arms and getting sleepier and sleepier, and then I woke up in the presence of the Goddess—which was amazing. I just don’t remember the part about what Oak did to me to make me die.”
Stark spoke solemnly. “You gave her your humanity for the red vampyres and fledglings. It was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Aphrodite met his gaze and smiled. “Thanks. That was a nice thing to say, Bow Boy.” Then she shook herself and the aura of joy resettled over her. “So, Neferet is over there. Why are you two here?”
Kevin said, “We need to get to that other world to warn Z. I was going to figure out a payment and call the sprites so I could use Old Magick again, but—”
“No!” Aphrodite interrupted. “Don’t call the sprites. Do not keep using Old Magick.” Her gaze went from Kevin to Stark. “Either of you. Old Magick isn’t normal. It’s leftover magick from when all of the worlds were created, and it’s too powerful for mortals. Eventually, it’ll turn you into the Old Magick equivalent of a human crackhead—or worse.”
“That’s why we’re here,” said Kevin. “Sgiach told us that Nyx’s Realm connects all the versions of our world, and that if our blood sacrifice was accepted,” he pointed at Stark’s bloody arm, “and my connection to spirit and to you was strong enough—you’d be able to guide us to the portal that opens to Zoey’s world.”
Aphrodite blinked several times. “Huh. Who knew?”
“Wait, you don’t know how to get us to the portal?” Stark asked.
Aphrodite shrugged. “No, but I also don’t know how I materialized these clothes or the beach I spent some time on when I was first here that looked a lot like the one on Grand Cayman’s Rum Point.”
Stark looked completely confused. “What does that mean? Can you help us or not?”
“Of course I can help you. I just won’t be able to explain how, that’s all.” She turned and began walking into the grove. Without looking behind her she said, “Are you coming, or what?”
“Coming!” Kevin said, hurrying after her.
Stark grunted and grumbled something, but also followed.
The beauty of Nyx’s Grove dazzled Kevin. He’d thought the Craobh, the sacred grove on the Isle of Skye, was amazing, but compared to what surrounded them now it was like a poor copy of a masterpiece. The grove they walked through was every color of green Kevin could have imagined and, along with the glistening white and silver boulders and the thick carpet of moss, there were flowers everywhere. Their colors were incredible—the most brilliant blues, yellows, reds, and purples he’d ever seen. And their perfume was intoxicating. It changed every few feet from jasmine to honeysuckle, then to wisteria and moonflower—and those were just the scents Kevin could identify.
“I want to say that this place is beautiful, but that doesn’t begin to describe it.”
Aphrodite sighed happily. “Yeah, you never lose the wonder you feel when you first see it either. And this is just a tiny piece of Nyx’s Realm. I honestly think it stretches on infinitely. It changes too, and becomes what you need when you need it. It’s really hard to explain.”
Kevin nodded. “I think I get that. It’s like me trying to find words to say how incredible this is. I can feel it, but I can’t say it.”
“Exactly!”
Aphrodite smiled up at him, and Kevin felt such a surge of joy that he reached out to put his arm around her, which passed through her body like there was nothing there.
“Sorry,” he said quickly.
“Don’t apologize. It doesn’t hurt me—it only hurts you. Kev, I can feel you, but it’s in here.” She pressed her hand against her chest. “Not out here. And feeling you in my heart is so, so much more.”
Kevin nodded but couldn’t speak because along with love for her within his heart were pain and loss and grief.
Stark was peering around, looking through the magnificent flowers, flourishing trees, and shimmering boulders that had opened to reveal the moss path on which they had been walking. “Do you think we’ll see any other ghosts—er—I mean, spirits?”
Aphrodite shrugged. “No telling. I’d kinda doubt it though. Well, unless you need to see someone who’s here. The grove always knows what you need and sends it to you. But who knows if it works the same way for you guys because you’re not dead. Plus, you’re on a pretty specific mission and I’m not thinking that includes much sightseeing.”
Stark went silent, and Kevin wondered what dead person he wished he could see.
“Do you have a house here?” Kevin asked Aphrodite.
Her laughter made little flashes of light happen around her that reminded Kevin of the fireflies that used to fill Haikey Creek Park in Broken Arrow on summer nights.
“No, I don’t. Or at least I don’t right now. Weird that I haven’t even thought about it.”
Stark found his voice again. “Where do you sleep?”
“I’m dead. I don’t sleep. And time passes differently here than when you’re alive,” she said. “Oh, there are a lot of dogs here. I’m surprised there are none around right now. I never had a dog. My dad didn’t care about them and my mother said that they were disgusting and dir
ty, but let me tell you—I like them. There’s this one giant German shepherd that looks like a grizzly. He and I hang out a lot.” Her grin widened. “Hey, how’s Nala?”
Kevin smiled down at her. “She’s great! She misses you.”
Aphrodite snorted. “No, she doesn’t. Cats know better. They’re here too, but I expected that. It’s the dogs that surprised me.” She looked at Stark. “Hey, you need a dog. Seriously.”
Stark frowned at her. “I’m a vampyre. If a cat chooses me that’d be okay, but a dog?” He moved his shoulders. “I’ve never heard of a dog at a House of Night.”
Kevin laughed. “I guess I should’ve told you. Your counterpart in the world we’re heading to has a dog. A big yellow lab named Duchess. She’s cool.”
“At the House of Night?”
“Definitely,” Kevin said.
“Poor dog. I’ll bet the cats are pissed about that,” said Aphrodite.
Kevin shrugged. “I think Duchess has a lot of patience. Every time I saw her she seemed like a very happy girl.” He gave Stark a wry look. “And I think Aphrodite’s right. Having a dog would be good for you.”
“Of course I’m right,” Aphrodite said. “Being dead definitely doesn’t change that. Oh, speaking of dead—I’ve spent some time with your sister.”
“Zoey? Really? How is she?”
“She’s good. She likes to hang out with the horses.”
Stark said, “There are horses here too?”
“Yep. Try to keep up. There are lots of animals here. Anyway, yeah, I like her.”
“In the world I’m heading to, you and Z are really good friends,” Kevin said.
Aphrodite shot Stark a quick look before saying, “And in that world Zoey and Stark are a thing, right? Like an Oathbound Warrior thing ?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Kevin said, also giving Stark a look.
“What?” Stark said. “It’s not like I didn’t already know that. Plus, I never met our Zoey, the one that’s dead and over here. The only one I know is the one from the Other World, and it’s not like I’m in love with her or anything.”
“Then why did you have to come with me?” Kevin asked—sick of how out of touch with his feelings he’d begun to realize this Stark truly was.
Stark blurted, “To make up for helping Neferet! Shit, man, how many times do I have to say that?”
His angry words echoed around them. Kevin could actually see them. They were dark, inky, and they lifted until they came to the verdant canopy where they were absorbed.
“That’s what happens to lies,” Aphrodite said. “They don’t last here.”
“They’re not …” Stark sighed. “Never mind.”
Aphrodite paused and turned to Stark. “You and I definitely weren’t friends, but I don’t care about that anymore. I can see what’s wrong with you, and because I know you can’t, I’m going to tell you about it—once. What you do with it afterward is up to you.”
Stark sighed again. “Okay. What?”
“You’ll never be happy if you can’t accept your feelings—and that means the good ones along with the bad. You are seriously the poster boy for toxic young male bullshit. And I say that with love because you can change it. Here’s the truth—it is not good for men to deny their feelings. Crying isn’t weakness—it’s healing. Asking for help doesn’t make you a pussy—it makes you mature. Until you deal with all that negativity inside you—all that anger and regret and jealousy—you’re going to be like this. A guy who has potential but is kinda douchey.” She flipped back her hair. “It’s your choice. You need to fix yourself. No one can do that for you. And, giant newsflash—it’s no woman’s responsibility to make you a better man. Do that on your own. Period. The end.”
Aphrodite began walking again, and this time she moved more quickly. Kevin and Stark scrambled to keep up with her.
“Hey, I don’t mean to rush you guys, but like I said, time passes differently here, and I just got a major feeling that you two need to be in Tulsa sooner rather than later.”
“Can you tell what’s going on there?” Kevin asked.
“No. I have zero clue. But I know you need to be there. I also know I need to have you promise me something—both of you. Especially you, Kevin.”
“Okay, yeah, we’re listening,” said Kevin.
“I said this before, but it won’t leave my mind, which means I need to say more about it. Do not use Old Magick. I know it’s tempting, especially for you,” she smiled at Kevin. “You’re unusually powerful. It’d be easy for you to give the sprites a call, make a quick deal with them, and then go on about your business. But Old Magick will change you if you keep using it.”
Stark lifted his hands and let them fall to his sides. “Yeah, you already said that. I think we need to go and—”
“James Stark, there is more going on here than you can understand. There is a reason Old Magick has mostly been confined to Skye and is under the watchful eye of a queen who isn’t fully vampyre or immortal. It doesn’t belong out in the world. Do you understand?”
Kevin spoke first. “Not entirely, but I think that’s part of the issue with Old Magick. I won’t use it though. I swear. I lost you because of it. I want nothing to do with those sprites.”
Aphrodite looked at Stark with one brow arched. “Well?”
“Yeah, whatever. I get it. Old Magick is dangerous. I won’t use it. Promise.”
“Not a particularly moving promise, but you have pledged your word in Nyx’s Grove. And that pledge is binding.” Around Aphrodite the air swirled and sizzled. “Now, come on. Let’s go. You need to be in Tulsa.”
As they walked on, Kevin focused on enjoying the sliver of time he’d been granted with Aphrodite. He wished he could hold her hand, but instead he walked beside her, talking about nothing and everything and memorizing each detail of her face, her eyes, and the way she looked at him and smiled.
There was no way to judge how long they’d been moving through Nyx’s Grove when Aphrodite stopped abruptly and Stark almost walked through her. “There—that’s the door to the world you need to enter.”
The grove hadn’t thinned. It had opened to reveal a large, oval-shaped portal that looked like a whirlpool of stars and moons and galaxies had been stirred together and poured onto the surface of a glistening mirror. The longer Kevin stared at it, the dizzier he felt.
He swallowed past the sudden dryness in his throat. “What do we do now?”
“Walk into it. Oh, and think about where you want to be. It’d suck for you if you were dropped, like, into the middle of the ocean or the Mojave or whatever. No way your cell service extends to alternative worlds—well, unless something major has changed with the different carriers.”
Kevin said to Stark, “We need to go to the Tulsa House of Night.”
“Definitely,” Stark said. “How about the statue of Nyx in the courtyard across from her temple.”
Kevin nodded. “Sounds good to me.” Then he turned to Aphrodite and drew a deep breath. “I’ll see you again on the way back—that’s what Sgiach said.” Her face softened, and Kevin thought she’d never looked so lovely.
“I’ll be listening for your call. Hey, it’s going to be hard, but you have to remember she’s not me. She has her own world and life … and love.” Aphrodite said the last word softly. “Don’t let it break your heart.”
Kevin wiped at the tears tracking down his face. “I know. And I’ll try not to let it get to me.”
“If she comforts you—accept it for what it is.”
“And what is it?” Kevin said.
“You’ll have to ask her, but when she answers you, remember what she says and know that she’s telling you the truth—her truth. Just as it is my truth that I loved you when I was alive, and I love you still. I always will.”
Kevin couldn’t speak. He could only nod.
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Aphrodite went to Stark. “Bow Boy, this trip is going to be difficult for you too, but for different reasons. It’s up to you to learn from it … or don’t,” she shrugged. “But if you don’t, it’ll make you even douchier.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. You know, you didn’t call me Bow Boy much when you were alive.”
Aphrodite laughed. “Oh, poor Bow Boy! Yes, I did—in my mind. Constantly, in my mind.” Then she began backing into the grove. “Go now,” she said. “You’re needed there.”
Kevin watched her smile one more time and blow him a kiss, then it was like the grove absorbed her, and Aphrodite disappeared. Reluctantly, he joined Stark at the portal.
Kevin cracked his knuckles. “Please take us to Nyx’s statue in the courtyard of the Tulsa House of Night.”
Stark ran his fingers through his hair, sighed, and said, “To the statue of Nyx at the Tulsa House of Night.”
Together, they entered the portal.
12
Other Lynette
As usual, Lynette woke before Neferet. In the kitchen that someone—Lynette guessed bottom-of-the-pecking-order Kelsey—had cleaned, she hurriedly prepared Neferet’s meal, then boiled an egg for herself and made toast with jam and a pot of coffee, which she took upstairs to her room to eat in peace as she waited for dusk and for Neferet to wake.
She went to the upstairs sitting room that bordered the balcony from which they’d observed Neferet the night before. Lynette pulled one of the overly ornate little tables over to the wall of windows and gazed out at a world covered with diamonds as she sipped her coffee and opened her borrowed laptop.
Ice blanketed everything, turning the lovely courtyard and rear grounds of the villa into something magickal enough for the sprites to call home.
“We have electricity. But let’s see how bad it is,” Lynette mused as her fingers danced across the keys. “Hum, Tulsa is a mess, but they aren’t calling it an icepocalypse—or at least not yet they aren’t.” She glanced out the windows again. The sky still spit ice, but not like it had the night before. Lynette guessed that a drive to Woodward Park would be almost impossible. “But a walk, that should be just fine.”
