Hera, Queen of Mortals (Goddess Unbound)

by Thomas, T. D.

  "How long will she be out?" Jason asked.

  "There's no way to know," I admitted. "But we can't wait for her. Ekhidna's on the move. She kidnapped Oko for a reason. She must have found a way to use an orisha to get to the Elemental Realms. Sabine said the orishas were linked to the Elements. Ana's orisha, Oko, rules earth."

  "Which means Ekhidna needs three more orishas: fire, water, and air," Darren said.

  "If she doesn't already have them," Jason pointed out. "Oko could've been her last target."

  "Which means it's too late to try to protect the orishas," I agreed. "Our best bet is to go to the Elemental Realms ourselves and warn them she's coming."

  "How do we do that?" Jason asked.

  "Does anyone have the spellbook Sabine had?" I replied. "Maybe there's a spell the witches can use to transport us."

  Morgan nodded.

  "It's in the car," she replied. "I'll get it."

  She disappeared. I nodded at Jason, and he left with her. I was serious about no one going anywhere alone, especially with one Hero down already.

  Morgan and Jason returned with the book and handed it to me. It burned with power.

  "This is going to take a while to go through," I observed, flipping pages. "And some of this isn't even in a language I know."

  "Give it to me," Darren offered.

  Arching an eyebrow, I handed him the book.

  "I'll do a search on the languages witches tend to write in, learn those, and then I'll see what I can find," he explained. "Shouldn't take long."

  He disappeared into his bedroom.

  "Until then, I guess we just sit tight," I sighed.

  "And do nothing?" Jason asked.

  "And rest," Ares corrected. "Get ready for what's coming."

  "And what's that?" he replied.

  "A fight to the death," Ares finished grimly.

  He headed into Carson's room and lay on the ground, covering his eyes with an arm. He was used to sleeping anywhere. Battle didn't always make for the most luxurious accommodations. But he was a light sleeper. No one would come close to that room without him knowing.

  Demeter left Carson and joined us.

  "Plan?" she asked.

  "Darren's going to see what he can dig up from the spellbook," I informed her.

  "Do we have a Plan B?" Demeter replied.

  "Worst case scenario: we find our own way to the Elemental Realms. Without magick," I replied.

  There had to be a way. There was always a way. I just had to think. Creatively.

  And then it hit me. It was so obvious. Impossible, of course. But obvious.

  "I know how we can travel between worlds," I murmured.

  "How?" Demeter asked.

  But her excitement faded when she saw the look on my face.

  I took a deep breath. There was no turning back now.

  "Justin."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  "Who's Justin?" Jason asked.

  Demeter and I exchanged a long look.

  "A friend," I finally said.

  "Sounds good," Jason said. "Let's go get him."

  "It's not ... that simple," Demeter interjected. "He's…"

  "Not in the mortal world anymore," I finished.

  Jason's brow furrowed.

  "What are you saying?" he pressed.

  "He's dead," Morgan translated.

  "He's not dead," I shot back. "He's just …"

  "Not alive anymore?" Jason supplied.

  "He died," I admitted. "But that doesn't mean he's dead. He's special. I've seen him. It's too perfect to be a coincidence. A Dreamer 'dies' because of his powers, and then I start seeing him in the Dreamlands? It has to mean something!"

  They were all staring at me like I was crazy. Even I had to admit that I sounded crazy. Maybe I was crazy.

  "When Sabine cast a spell to amplify my powers, I felt Justin," I insisted. "His power saved me. He brought me back to the mortal world. He couldn't do that if he were dead."

  No one said anything for a long time.

  "I think we should give it a try," Morgan offered out of the blue.

  "We don't have any other ideas," Jason finally agreed.

  "So how do we get him back?" Demeter asked.

  "If I'm right, and Justin isn't dead, then he's stuck somehow," I explained, "between life and death."

  "That can happen?" Jason asked.

  "Not usually," I answered. "But Justin isn't normal. He isn't really mortal, but he isn't really anything else either. His powers changed him."

  "His spirit didn't know where to go when his body died," Morgan murmured.

  "Hera, you have to be sure about this," Demeter said. "You know we don't have much time. This can't just be because you..."

  She didn't finish. She didn't have to.

  "Because you what?" Jason asked.

  Silence.

  "Because I... because Justin and I ... were close," I finished.

  Jason's eyes went wide, but he was smart enough not to say anything.

  "We need him," I said. "All of us. He's our only way to the Elemental Realms."

  "But how do we do it?" Demeter argued. "How do we bring him back?"

  "I think I know a way," Darren commented from the door.

  I hadn't even noticed him there.

  "I read through the spellbook," he continued.

  "You read through the whole thing?" Demeter marvelled.

  "What did you find?" I pressed.

  "The yokai told the truth," he said. "Spirit is the gateway. Orishas are spirits connected to this reality and to the Elemental Realms. They're the perfect conduit to jump from one to the other."

  "How?" I asked.

  "They displace the spirits of anyone they possess," Darren explained.

  "Displace where?" Demeter wondered.

  "The Elemental Realms," Darren replied. "But the spirits of the people they possess are usually too stunned by the process to even realize where they are until it's over and they're back in their bodies."

  "But the right person..." I interjected.

  "Or thing," Demeter added.

  "Could become aware of their new surroundings and do whatever they wanted there," Darren finished.

  "So, Ekhidna's going to get possessed by the orishas?" Jason asked.

  "Apparently," I murmured.

  "But why would they do that?" Jason asked.

  "They wouldn't. But she can force them," I answered. "When I saw Ekhidna kidnap Oko, she put something over his neck. A necklace. It made him her slave."

  "A binding amulet," Darren said. "It's a way to control a possessed person for a short time. Very dangerous though. Takes a lot of power. Ekhidna must wear one as well so that the orishas can't control her once they possess her. When she's finished in an Elemental Realm, one of her monsters can command the orisha to leave her, and she'll return."

  "Okay," Demeter said. "But how will the monsters know when to call her back? And how is she going to bring back what she needs?"

  Darren opened the spellbook and pointed to a diagram. "They're called Vessels of Emeth. Crystal orbs etched with the symbol of each Element. They can transport the powers of the Elements back to the mortal world. Every Vessel is actually a pair of stones: one physical, one spiritual. They're linked. The spiritual orb is taken by the spirit that goes to the Elemental Realm. The other stays here. When the orb in the spirit world is filled, so is the one in this world."

  "So, when the monsters see an orb fill, they know Ekhidna's done and they can bring her back," Demeter said.

  "They just keep repeating the process with each orisha until she has all four Elements," Jason said.

  "Well, we know how they're doing it now," I said. "But we can't use orishas to get to the Elemental Realms. Divine power can't coexist with anything else. Orishas can't possess us or Heroes. Are there any spells to take us to the Elemental Realms?"

  Darren shook his head. "But you mentioned this guy…"

  "Justin," I interjected.


  "Right. Justin," Darren said. "And the Dreamlands."

  He flipped through the spellbook.

  "Don't tell me there's a spell to bring someone back from the Dreamlands," Demeter said.

  "Not exactly, no," Darren admitted. "But I did find this."

  He pointed to a page.

  "Transfusion," he read.

  "Like a blood transfusion?" Morgan asked.

  "Exactly," Darren said. "But you give raw energy instead of blood."

  "How does that help?" I asked.

  "If your … friend is trapped because he has too much energy to, well, die, and too little energy to come back from where he is, you can tip the scales," Darren suggested. "Give him what he's been missing. What he's been waiting for."

  "Why wouldn't he just tell me that?" I demanded.

  "He probably doesn't know," Darren pointed out.

  Darren was quiet for a moment. "There's more."

  "What?" I demanded.

  "He's losing energy," Darren admitted. "There's no limbo between life and death. You're pulled one way or the other. Eventually."

  "You're saying ... he's dying?" I realized. "That's why he's been fading? It was right in front of me the whole time. How did I not ... we do the spell. Now."

  "We'll need witches," Demeter reminded me. "And without Sabine..."

  "We have to try," I shot back.

  "And what if they refuse?" Jason asked.

  He gestured up and down at Sabine's body.

  I gave him a cold stare. "No one refuses me."

  I pulled Sabine's phone out. "Do you think you can figure out who's in her coven from this?"

  "Maybe," Darren said.

  "Try," I replied. "In the meantime, we'll go back to the shop. If the witches are scared, they'll stay where they're strongest."

  I took a deep breath. I was already readying myself for the battle ahead. Not with monsters, but with witches: a far more dangerous enemy, especially when I needed them to be my friends.

  "Jason and Darren, go get the van," I said. "Demeter, wake Ares. Explain the situation. He'll keep Carson safe while the rest of us are gone."

  Darren paused before he headed down the stairs. "Hera, this spell, it has risks. Big risks."

  "I don't care," I said. "Let me worry about that."

  How long did we have before Justin faded away entirely? Days? Hours? Minutes? There was no way to know. It could already be too late. How could I have been so blind? But the answer was obvious. Losing him had been agony. It had crippled me so badly that I'd become numb. I'd become too afraid to hope because I was too fragile to survive being disappointed.

  "Hera..." Darren began.

  "I said I don't care," I snapped. "This is his only chance. And ours."

  "You could die!" he blurted out.

  "The car," I repeated.

  He opened his mouth to argue, but I was faster. "Don't make me repeat myself."

  Darren left.

  I took a deep breath. I could do this. I had to do this. For Justin. For all of us.

  I swallowed my doubts. I forced back my tears. No more weakness. No more hesitation. I would succeed. I would not accept anything less.

  Demeter cocked her head at me. She knew something had changed. But she didn't know that what had changed was me. There was no old me, no new me, anymore. Finally, there was just me. Hera. Queen of Gods.

  I was back.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  The witches were exactly where I'd said they'd be. That was the one nice thing about mortals, even witches. When their emotions took over, they were predictable.

  "What do you want?" a voice from inside the shop demanded.

  "We know what Ekhidna's up to," I replied.

  "Sabine?" the voice asked.

  The curtains peeled back to reveal a face. Kira.

  I was tempted to lie. It would have been easier. But I'd gotten by for countless millennia without lying. I wasn't going to start now. I was me again. I was too strong, too proud, to lie.

  "No," I admitted.

  "You!" Kira hissed. "What did you do to Sabine?"

  "It was her choice," I replied. "She did it because there was no other way. She did what had to be done. I hope you will too."

  "Get OUT of her!" Kira demanded.

  "No," I replied evenly. "Even I wanted to, I can't. Not without shattering the boundary between this world and every other, killing us all. But I can leave her when this is over. The boundaries between the worlds will have recovered enough for me to ascend by then."

  Silence. They were weighing my words. I only saw Kira, but the others were there. Witches were almost never alone. Their strength was in numbers, in unity.

  "What do you want from us?" Kira asked.

  "Let me inside and I'll explain," I answered. "We've wasted enough time. This is about saving your world, remember?"

  Kira's face hardened. I had that effect on people. But she was smart. She knew I was right.

  "Come in," she muttered at last.

  I waited awkwardly for a moment. I wasn't sure if they needed to do anything to drop their wards. Having plowed through them once before, I had no intention of doing it again if I could avoid it.

  Finally, I decided the witches had had enough time. I headed inside.

  I spotted Kira by the window, surrounded by eleven women. None of them looked entirely sure what to do next, which was perfect, because I did.

  "Ekhidna has captured orishas, and she's going to use them to enter the Elemental Realms," I told them. "If she succeeds, she'll have the power she needs to free Typhon from his prison. If that happens, there will be a celestial war between Order and Chaos, and this time, there's a very good chance that Order will lose. If we do lose, everything you love will be destroyed. All that will be left is terror and agony, a fate far worse than you could ever imagine or words can explain."

  "And there's a spell that can stop her?" Kira guessed.

  I went to the doorway to the shop. Demeter handed me the spellbook from outside. I in turn handed it to Kira.

  Her eyes went wide the moment she saw it. Several of the witches around her gasped. They knew this book. It was infamous.

  "There's no magick that can stop Ekhidna directly," I replied. "She's far too powerful for that. But there's a spell you can do that will bring us someone who can take us to where Ekhidna is."

  "To the Elemental Realms," Kira said.

  "Yes," I agreed. "But it won't be easy. It'll take everything you have. But we can help. Gods and Heroes can't do magick. But our power runs in our blood. The blood of a god, even one in human form, can work wonders in the right hands. Now, if you let in the others, we can begin."

  The witches looked at each other, and then as one, they looked at the door where Demeter and the Heroes waited.

  "You can come in now," I assured them.

  Bracing themselves, one by one, they trickled in, visibly relieved when no paralyzing waves of nausea and fear washed over them.

  I waved Darren over. "Explain the details to them. Demeter will collect the blood."

  Demeter found a small bowl and knife. Darren went over to Kira and opened the book. He pointed at a spell. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kira flush. She wasn't even breathing. I'd forgotten the effect Darren had on women, the same effect Zeus had. I felt a familiar surge of envy and bitterness. Old habits die hard.

  "It's a Transfusion," Darren was explaining, as I felt a sharp pain on the back of my arm.

  I looked down to see Demeter pressing the knife into my skin until a thin, red line grudgingly appeared. With the knife, Demeter scraped some of my blood into the bowl. Then, she held a cloth against my arm.

  "I don't know," Kira interrupted Darren's explanation. "It sounds risky. Like, incredibly risky."

  "I'll be the one taking all the risk," I interjected.

  Kira turned. "Not just you. Sabine too, right? I mean, if something happens, you'll both die."

  "My choices are her choices," I replied. "She trus
ted me completely when she let me in."

  "I have to think about the good of the coven," Kira argued.

  "The good of the coven is saving your world," I insisted. "I can't make you do the spell. But if you don't, Ekhidna will win, and you will all suffer and you will all die. Every last one of you. And that's if you're lucky. Ekhidna can do far worse than kill you. But whatever she decides, she will come for you because, before she does anything else, Ekhidna will wipe out any power that rivals her own, and that means every last witch in the mortal world."

  "How can you be so sure?" Kira said.

  "Because it's what I would do if I were her," I said.

  "Then we have to help," one of the other witches finally said. "We have to try the spell."

  Kira locked eyes with me. But I didn't look away. I had nothing to hide. I was finally free of doubt. Someone like Ares took comfort in strength. Someone like me took comfort in purpose.

  "Fine," Kira relented. "Carol, Lee, get what we need. Everyone else, start your meditations. Prepare yourselves. This won't be easy."

  "I have the blood," Demeter whispered.

  "You'll be performing the ritual?" I asked Kira, as I took the bowl.

  "I guess," she answered. "I don't have to drink it, do I?"

  She eyed the bowl.

  "That's up to you," I shrugged. "Drink it, wear it, toss it around, gargle with it. You're the witch, not me."

  Kira took the bowl reluctantly and handed it to one of the other witches. Then she gave me a meaningful look and headed into the back room, closing the tapestry behind us.

  "This transfusion," Kira said. "I've never done something like this before. Ever. I mean, I didn't even know something like this was even possible."

  "I understand," I replied carefully. But I knew she was far from finished. She didn't pull me back here just to tell me something everyone already knew.

  "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not sure you do understand," she said. "I mean, do you get that you're going to be taking your spiritual energy, your life, and pouring it into this guy?"

  "He's very special to me," I assured her. "And he's our only chance of getting to the Elemental Realms to stop Ekhidna."

  "I just want ..." Kira began. She started over. "You know you're going to be tearing yourself into pieces and then burning them up like gasoline to try to drive him back to the mortal world? It'll be ... gods, I can't even think of a word to describe how painful that's going to be."