I rolled out of the way before it could drench me.
As I got to my feet, Demeter ran to my side. She lashed at one of the tall, translucent cachars as it tried to wrap its arms around me from behind. I hadn't even seen it there.
Just as the belt was about to hit it, the cachar bent at an impossible angle, dodging the attack. It flowed towards Demeter with incredible speed, its body undulating like a ribbon.
Demeter waited. And waited. Then she dove toward it as its arms shot out to grab her. She swiped at its face with her necklace. The pendant sliced into the creature's blank eyes. It howled as it stumbled backwards, clawing at its face in agony.
But the other cachars had pulled back. They pressed themselves against the walls and vanished.
Ares grabbed a lacrima with both hands, heaved it over his head, and hurled it at where he'd last seen the cachars. But just as it was about to hit, there was a blur. A cachar, still hiding against the wall, dropped flat to the ground and, in the same fluid motion, slid itself under a palette of boxes.
The lacrima exploded harmlessly against the wall.
"The lacrima are trying to glue us in place" I shouted, "so the cachars can finish us off!"
And even as I spoke, the door flew open again, and a stream of lacrima poured in.
At the sound, Jason looked up. He'd been holding two lacrima motionless with his mind.
With a tremendous grunt, he pushed his hands out, and the two lacrima hurtled through the air and slammed into the crowd rushing into the room. They exploded, gluing the rest in place.
Darren grabbed one of the stuck lacrima and ripped it off the ground. Then he launched it at the stone pishacha. It burst, covering the statue in glue.
"Carson, you can let go of the pishacha now," I told her.
She blinked with relief, and the grey stone melted away. But the pishacha was stuck in place. It hissed and spat angrily as it tried to free itself.
Darren and Ares rushed into the crowd of lacrima. They were stuck to the ground, but they wouldn't be stuck forever. Weaving and striking with flawless skill, Darren and Ares were beautiful to watch. They punched. Kicked. Smashed. Fountains of slime shot into the air, but Darren and Ares were gone long before the glue could touch them.
Demeter and I scanned the room for cachars. They weren't stupid and slow like the lacrima. They were assassins. When they struck, they killed.
Images flickered.
I shoved Demeter to the side as a cachar dropped from the ceiling, barely missing her. Its undulating limbs shot towards my face to wrap around and snap my neck.
More images.
I leapt toward the cachar. Its impossibly long arms sailed past me. It tried to arc out of my way, but I spread my arms as wide as I could and managed to tackle it to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
The cachar recovered quickly, raising its arms to smash down on my face. But Demeter was there. She looped the belt around its throat and dragged it off of me, choking it mercilessly as she wrenched it back and forth from side to side.
But as she walked backward, another cachar stepped out from a palette of boxes. It rushed at Demeter from behind. I opened my mouth to warn her, but before I could even get a word out, the cachar was smashed into the wall by a flying lacrima.
I turned to see Ares, who saluted me briefly before smashing another lacrima in the face with his fist and then sprinting away before its explosion of slime could stick to him.
I was paying so much attention to the others that I didn't spot the cachar stalking me until it was too late. It grabbed my arm with both its hands. I hauled against it, but it was too strong. It jerked me to my knees. All around me, cachars silently floated down from the ceiling like dandelion seeds. I was surrounded.
Cold hands pressed on either side of my face. It was too late to pull away. Tears filled my eyes. The last sound I'd hear would be the snap of my own neck.
But nothing happened.
It held me. But it didn't kill me.
I still couldn't move.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Darren flipping into the centre of the cachars, sweeping the legs out from under one of them. The others tried to swarm him, but his eyes were everywhere and his body nowhere. They couldn't seem to touch him. Every time they did, he twisted out of their grasp and reversed their hold, throwing them back against each other. He was distracting them.
I felt hands on my neck. Warm hands. Human hands.
"This is going to hurt," Demeter warned me.
She pressed my cheek to one side and then I felt myself being pulled down. My cheek scraped painfully. But I was free.
When I turned, I saw a statue of the cachar that had caught me. Carson was staring intently at it, her glowing gaze unblinking.
"The pishacha?" I demanded, rubbing my cheek.
"Jason is making sure it doesn't break free," Demeter assured me.
I looked over just as Jason gestured and another lacrima flew into the pishacha , exploding and soaking it in slime. The pishacha howled.
Ares grabbed another lacrima and spun it around in a circle, tossing it at the pishacha like a discus. More slime. More howling.
I smiled.
That left the cachars for me, and I excelled at nothing better than revenge.
I closed my eyes.
Darren had the skill of an expert fighter. He was moving poetry. But what I lacked in grace, I made up for in perfect foresight.
Cachars, enraged that I'd been freed, forgot about Darren and tried to catch me again. But this time, I was ready. I saw every attack before they made it, and I evaded each one. And then I struck back with all the fury I had in me, fury that had given me the most terrible reputation of all the gods.
I was brutal. I tore eyes. I punched throats. I shattered wrists.
Demeter and Darren were right behind me. As soon as I injured one cachar, Demeter wrapped her belt around its neck and pulled it into the shadows where she finished it off with her own implacable ferocity. While Demeter was busy with one, Darren struck with lethal force, shattering limbs, bursting arteries, snapping necks.
Soon only broken bodies littered the floor. Even as we watched, they began to disintegrate, vanishing without a trace.
One monster left.
I kicked a mangled cachar out of my way as I stalked towards the pishacha.
"Look at me," I commanded.
Jason, Darren and Carson exchanged a look.
"She's speaking Paishachi," Demeter explained. "They're not like most monsters. They're intelligent."
"Chaos worshippers," Ares spat.
"Look at me," I repeated to the pishacha.
It lifted its chin defiantly. "I don't take orders from you."
"Wrong," I replied evenly.
I looked at Ares and inclined my head. He grinned. He circled behind the pishacha and, in one smooth motion, he snapped its arm. The crack was deafening.
The pishacha screamed. Jason looked horrified.
"They're evil," Ares growled. "No mercy."
Jason opened his mouth, but closed it again. He wasn't like Ares. He didn't have the heart of a killer. Maybe that was a good thing in a human being. But Jason was a Hero. He couldn't afford to be human anymore. I couldn't afford for him to be human anymore. I needed him to be ruthless. Inhuman. Like me.
Or like I used to be.
"You're in luck," I told the whimpering pishacha. "It seems we have a gentle heart among us, so you might actually get to walk away from here alive."
"You're lying," it snapped.
"I never lie," I replied. "And you know that's true, because you know who I am and because your kind makes a living out of lies."
It stared at me sullenly. "What do you want?"
"Tell me what Ekhidna is up to," I demanded.
"I don't know," it answered. "I do only as I'm told."
"Then you're no good to me alive," I replied.
I looked at Ares. He moved behind the pishacha.
Its eyes nev
er left mine. They burned with loathing. But I hated it back every bit as hard as it hated me.
"Kill me," it snarled. "Snap every bone in my body. It changes nothing. You'll lose. And chaos will reign. He returns."
My eyes went wide.
I nodded.
Ares snapped the pishacha's neck. It slumped down lifelessly. Jason looked at me, horrified. But I returned his gaze without pity.
"He returns?" Demeter wondered.
"It was written in Teresa's blood," I recalled. "I was so distracted with what happened to Darren, and then with Erinle, I'd forgotten."
Everyone stared at me expectantly.
"So, who's 'he'?" Ares asked.
I said nothing. I thought. And I thought.
Finally, I shrugged. "That's a very, very good question."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"I take it you didn't find any witches in the theatre," I said, as we pulled out of the industrial park. "We could really use some answers."
"No," Ares replied quickly. A little too quickly.
"Not exactly," Demeter said. "We found some. But they ... got away."
"They got away?" I echoed, arching an eyebrow.
"They're witches, Hera," Ares growled. "They're full of tricks."
"They used magick on you?" I asked.
"Not exactly," Demeter replied.
"Then, what happened?" I demanded. "Exactly?"
"They used magick on everyone else," Demeter answered.
"What?" I replied.
"Wait. Witches? Like real witches? Like magic and everything?" Carson interjected.
Jason gave her a warning look. "We usually just listen and save questions for the end. It's simpler. And it makes them less angry."
Carson sighed, but she stayed quiet.
"They did some kind of spell to throw us off their trail," Ares explained darkly. "They made everyone else look like them."
"But that theatre must've had hundreds of people in it!" I protested. "That kind of illusion..."
"So, on the bright side, at least we know they're powerful," Demeter said.
"Which doesn't do us any good if we can't get them to help us," I replied through gritted teeth.
"You got us to help," Carson pointed out. "You just need to make them listen to what you have to say."
"Yes, but how?" I replied testily.
"Well, don't witches, like, hang out in covens and stuff?" Carson continued.
"More or less," I admitted. "But confronting powerful witches, uninvited, while they're in a group with other powerful witches tends to ... impact negatively on one's survival."
"And we have enough enemies," Demeter agreed.
"Okay, but they won't run, right?" Carson pressed.
"I don't follow," I told her.
"As long as they think they can take you, they'll stand their ground," Carson explained, "which gives you a chance to talk. And they can't help but listen. Just talk fast. Before they can turn you into a toad or something."
"That actually makes sense," Jason admitted.
"I know it makes sense," I muttered. "I know what 'sense' is."
"But we still have to find them," Darren pointed out.
"Any ideas?" Demeter asked.
No one spoke. Instead, they all looked at me. Naturally.
I sighed.
"I don't know," I admitted. "But I think I know someone who does."
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I'd intended to go in with just Ares, like the first time I'd visited Erinle's bar. But the door was ajar. And that changed everything.
We were strongest as a group. From now on, that's how we'd have to stay.
Ares went first. He had the regeneration powers. It was the safest choice.
He kicked open the door with a loud bang. Subtlety was not his strong suit.
He rushed inside and looked around. Then he motioned us forward.
"Watch for cachars," I warned.
"How?" Darren countered.
I gave him an even look. "Just do your best."
"Look!" Demeter pointed.
Two oni, in their true forms, lay dead in the corner. But their bodies hadn't vanished. Strange.
"I much prefer ya to the other visitors I just had," Erinle commented, as he walked out of the back room, cigarillo in hand.
"Erinle," I said, surprised by how relieved I was that he was still alive.
"Killing oni. Neat trick," Ares admitted grudgingly.
"We all got our skills," Erinle shrugged. He turned to me. "Ya brought friends."
"My Heroes," I told him.
"Don't look like much," Erinle said, as he examined each in turn. "But then neither do I. That just means Ekhidna and her monsters won't see them coming til it be too late."
"I need ... your help," I admitted.
"Again?" Erinle replied.
I ignored that.
"How'd you kill the oni anyway?" Darren interjected. "They're invincible."
"Everybody and everything got a weakness," Erinle replied. "Even if it be only one."
"You have monkey's blood?" Demeter asked incredulously.
The Heroes stared at me.
"Oni are allergic," I explained. "Long story."
"I keep many things close by," Erinle shrugged. "Just in case. But that not be why you came. If all you be doing be stocking up on monkey's blood, you going to be losing this war."
"We're looking for witches," I said. "We found some, but they ... eluded us."
"Witches not be easy to find," Erinle replied. "Especially when they not want to be found."
"That's why we're here," I said.
I wasn't renowned for my patience, and Erinle seemed to delight in testing what little I had.
"Witches be tricky to find," Erinle continued. "But there be one thing we share in common."
"And what's that?" I asked.
"We shop at the same place," Erinle replied.
He pulled out a business card from his pocket. Carson took it.
"Sanctuary Curio Emporium," she read.
"The witches will be there?" I pressed.
"Can't say for sure," Erinle admitted. "But it be a full moon tonight. And witches, they love them a full moon."
"They'll be stocking up for their ritual," Demeter guessed.
"Then let's go," I said.
"Wait. One more thing," Jason said. "Does the phrase 'He Returns' mean anything to you?"
Erinle cocked his head. "That all depends."
"On what?" I pressed.
"On who said it," Erinle replied.
"One of Ekhidna's monsters," I answered. "But pishachas are liars."
Erinle nodded. "They always be lying. But not about this."
"Then you know what it means," I pressed.
"No," Erinle admitted. "But I can guess. It be forbidden to speak of. Even for me."
"What? Tell us what you know!" I demanded. "We're at war! And right now we're losing. If you want that to change, help us."
"All I can say be ya best stop Ekhidna, and stop her soon," Erinle answered. I'd never heard his voice quaver before. He was afraid. And despite myself, that made me afraid.
"If he returns," Erinle continued. "It be over."
"What will be over?" I asked.
Erinle didn't answer for a long time.
"Everything."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I was silently seething. I didn't like being kept in the dark. I liked it even less when Erinle was doing it. I wanted to shake the answers out of him. But I couldn't. I might need his help again. And worse yet, I wasn't even sure that I could. And that made me even angrier.
"Drive faster," I said.
"I'm driving as fast as I can," Jason replied. "We don't want to get pulled over by the cops. That'll waste even more time."
"Let's hope the witches are late shoppers," Carson murmured.
"Even if they aren't, we might be able to pump whoever works there for information," Darren suggested.
"Well, here'
s your chance," Jason said. "We're here."
The store didn't look like much. Thick, black curtains hid everything inside. In front of the curtains were empty-faced mannequins dressed in a stark contrast of elaborate medieval dresses and skin-tight leather.
"If there's power in there, I don't feel it," Ares said.
"Then this is definitely the right place," Demeter replied.
"Huh?" Carson said.
"We should be able to feel something. Anything," Demeter explained. "Even ordinary mortals have a trace of magick in them. But I feel nothing. Which means somebody's hiding."
We piled out of the van and headed to the front door.
"It's closed," Carson said, pointing at the sign on the front window.
"Let's knock," Ares growled.
He raised his fist to smash through the window.
"We're not here to fight," I reminded him. "Jason, unlock the door."
"I..." he started. "I can't see the lock."
"You don't have to. Just picture what you want to happen," I told him.
"Finesse, not force," Demeter added.
"I'll try," Jason said dubiously.
"Concentrate. Go slow," I told him. "Think of it as practice. Smashing enemies is great, but perforating their hearts is faster and much more lethal."
Jason took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and extended one hand.
"Gently," I reminded him. "Control."
The door began to shake.
"Not the door," I said. "The lock. Focus on the lock."
The door shook one last time. Then nothing.
The lock began to quiver. Once. Twice. Slowly at first, so weakly I almost couldn't see it. Then, with a violent, tearing sound, the lock flew out of the door.
"Nice," Ares said.
"Very nice," Demeter agreed, squeezing Jason's shoulder.
Ares pushed the door, and it obediently swung open.
"Anyone think that might have been too easy?" Darren asked. "I thought these were powerful witches.
"They're not worried about people getting in," Demeter guessed.
"Which means we should be worried about getting back out," I finished.
No matter. We didn't have any choice. That made things easy at least.
I went to step through the door. But I stopped myself.
Hera, Queen of Mortals (Goddess Unbound) Page 13
