by Sumida, Amy
“Please just listen,” he growled and I nodded. “It was a child, a little girl of about five.”
“That's awful,” I remembered the Maile Amber Alerts and a horrible fear hit my belly.
“It was,” he rubbed a hand over his face. “I've seen horrible things, Vervain. Terrible, monstrous things but this,” his breath shuddered out of him. “It was evil, pure evil.”
“Do tell,” Roarke settled next to us.
“Shut up, brat-cat!” I snarled and Roarke sat back with an affronted look. “Sorry, Az, go on.”
“The child had been killed, her throat slit and her heart removed, and that was the only good thing about the situation. That they'd killed her first.” His teeth ground together before he continued. “They skinned her, Carus. Flayed her and wore her skin like a cape as they danced around her heart on a platter.”
“What?” I felt sick, images scrolling through my head that I'd never be able to get out. “Who did this?”
“That's the thing,” he flexed his shoulders and I saw the faint outline of his wings shimmer in and then out of view. He must have been really upset to loose control of that. “I went to collect her soul because she was a Christian and so I was called to her side but when I got there, there was another god already trying to claim her.”
“Another god?” I leaned forward and took his hands. “Who?”
“I don't know,” he shook his head. “I've never seen him before but he had dark skin, dark hair, and wore these strange glasses strapped to his face, like goggles you'd wear swimming. He said the child had been sacrificed to him and as such, her soul belonged to him. He said it was his duty to take her to the upper world. I'm pretty sure he was an Aztec deity. He's not a death deity, I would have known if he were.”
“No problem then,” I said. “We'll just ask Blue. I'm sure he'll know who he was. Did you get her soul?”
“Yes,” he sighed, a little of the tension leaving his shoulders. “She chose to go with me and when it comes to death, the gods can only try to sway the minds of mortals, they can't force them. She belonged to Christ in life and so she was mine in death. I was able to release her soul in Heaven.”
“Well, there's that at least.”
A new thought occurred to me. Anubis had said he'd be waiting for me if I ever died... again. He'd said I couldn't escape him but if what Azrael said was true, I'd have a choice on where I was headed, as long as I had more than one deity offering me an afterlife. I looked over to Azrael and felt a weight lift from my chest, between him and Odin, I think I was covered.
“Me too, except there's more,” Azrael continued, closing his eyes. “Her's wasn't the only child corpse there.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“I had feared such,” Blue sighed and sat back in his chair.
Azrael had just finished explaining the horrifying things he'd witnessed and the Aztec god who'd been a party to it. The room had gone eerily quiet, expressions ranging from anger to terror had flowed across my friend's faces. For the most part, we were able to at least understand the motivations of the gods we fought against. They wanted more power and they'd manipulate humans any way they could to get it, but children? No one killed kids. It was like an unwritten rule, you just didn't go there.
“Are you going to explain that comment or just keep us in suspense?” I looked pointedly at Blue.
“The combination of weather issues and missing children had me suspecting someone,” Blue began. “Now with Azrael's description, I'm sure it's him. It's Tlaloc, my cousin.”
“Your cousin likes to dance around in the skins of children?” I couldn't keep the horror from my voice. Who could, when saying those words?
“He was a great god once,” Blue sighed. “We shared a temple on the pyramid that I'm sure you remember.” He looked at me with a little smile.
“Oh, Blue,” I shook my head, “so not the right time to bring that up.”
“Yes, of course,” he shrugged, “I was making an effort at levity but I can see that it's an impossible endeavor under the circumstances. Tlaloc is a god of rain. He was sacrificed to so that he would bring the rains and ensure a good harvest. The harvest was very important, without it, people would starve. So the Aztecs sacrificed what was most precious to them.”
“Their children,” Finn grimaced. He was familiar with parental betrayal and I could see the thought of other parents performing the ultimate betrayal, killing the children they should be protecting, stuck in his craw even worse than it did for the rest of us.
“Yes,” Blue looked down at his lap. “I'm not comfortable discussing this. I've never approved of sacrificing children, but in defense of Tlaloc, he never asked for the children to be sacrificed to him. They were offered and he took them but once he held their souls, he did the best he could for them, taking them to the Upper World, a place of perpetual Springtime in the God Realm. There, the children know happiness and love, while they remain forever young.”
“That sounds horrible,” Persephone whispered.
Ah, we'd hit another sore spot. Persephone's mother had tried to keep her a child, if not in body, than in soul, forever. Demeter had been royally pissed when I'd encouraged Sephy to grow up and move in with Hades but Sephy had grown into a confident woman, in part from taking my advice (though honestly, I had very little to do with it) and now saw Demeter's desires as controlling and selfish. She was just a little bitter over all the years Demeter had cost her by trying to keep Persephone immature.
“It's the best he could do,” Blue frowned. “I thought he'd be relieved when the sacrifices started to wane but instead, he got angry. He'd grown accustomed to being revered and of course, the power he'd get from the young lives given to him. I offered him a portion of the energy I was collecting through manipulating humans but he declined and became a bit of a recluse. I haven't seen him in years.”
“And now he's popped up and has started taking his own sacrifices,” I shivered.
“No,” Azrael interrupted. “That's not what I said. I said he was there, I didn't say he did the killing.”
“He has priests,” Blue deduced grimly.
“There were four other men there,” Az nodded. “Men of mixed races but beyond that, I wouldn't be able to describe them. I was too shocked by what they'd done to focus on their faces. I can tell you that they were in a deserted house but it looked in good repair. I'd wager that these are not people without means.”
“Wait,” I looked over at Azrael in disbelief, “you know where they are? Why didn't you tell me that to begin with?”
“Of course I know where they are,” he frowned at me. “I had to go there to get the child's spirit. As far as not telling you, I thought you'd know that already and I'm sure they've long since moved on to a new location. What with my unexpected interference.”
“But you weren't seen by the humans,” I reasoned. “Maybe Tlaloc didn't tell them about you. I mean, why would he care that an angel knew where his little minions were holed up? He wouldn't be expecting you to call the cops or anything.”
“Maybe not,” Az blinked. “I just got the sense that he recognized me, more than my angel status that is.”
“Either way,” I shrugged, “it's worth taking a look. Even if they're gone, maybe we'll find some clues to help us track them.”
“Let's go get these fuckers,” Pan growled and everyone agreed with him.
I ran to my bedroom to get geared up.
Chapter Thirty
Azrael's first assumption had been correct, the bastards were gone by the time we got there. We busted into an empty house on the outskirts of Haleiwa, a little surfer town on the North shore of Oahu. It was close enough to the beach that we could hear the waves crashing against the sand and a salt-laced breeze wafted in through the windows.
I was grateful for the breeze. It helped to wash away some of the smell of death that lingered in the room like a vengeful spirit. Without it, I'd be throwing up all over the evidence. Even with it, I wasn't
sure I'd be holding onto the contents of my stomach for very long.
The priests had left in a hurry. There were empty food containers strewn all over the kitchen, bloody bootprints everywhere, and last but not least, there were the corpses. Little, skinless corpses, like something out of a slasher movie. They didn't look real, couldn't be real. They had to be props, special effects, not children, never children.
My breath started coming in shaky gasps as I stared down at them, four bodies laid out carefully in a row, hands clasped and eyes staring. Lidless, hazy marbles with darkened centers. Their chests had gaping holes in them, black cavities stretched open like screaming mouths. Blood covered sinews and muscles flecked with yellow bits of fat. Beautiful babies turned into nightmares.
Then, in a pile in a corner, was something my mind couldn't even accept at first. I knew what it had to be, Azrael had already told me what had been done and I'd seen the bodies. I knew it was a pile of skin but my mind didn't want to know that. It tried to make the pile into something else, something less horrifying. My eyes shied away from the flat expanses that should have been smiling faces, the scattered freckles that had once been cute and were now a grotesque mockery of innocence. I ran to the door and vomited over the railing.
I was still dry heaving when Trevor came out, rubbing a warm hand over my back as tears started to burn my eyes. Why children? Why would the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen, the most horrible evil, be done to kids? It was like a glimpse into hell, not any of the ones I'd seen, but maybe one of the levels of Dante's creation. An imagined hell so much more disturbing than the reality. A hell for children.
I spat to clear my mouth and wiped my lips on the napkin Trevor handed me. Then his arms were around me and I gave into the weakness of leaning on his strength. This was one time I wouldn't try to tough it out. Instead, I burrowed close and breathed in the scent that meant home and love to me, Trevor's spicy wolf musk. After a few breaths, I was calm enough to go back in.
No one looked at me funny for my mad dash, there was only sympathy and shared disgust. I was grateful for that and nodded at them before going into the kitchen to rinse my mouth out. Then I went back to searching the house. There had to be something there we could use. If they left even the smallest piece of themselves anywhere in the place, I could use it to form a tracking spell and we could find them. A hair, a toothbrush, anything, please.
I walked down the hall and headed to the back bedrooms. The first two were already being investigated, so I took the master bedroom at the end of the hall. The door was shut but I wasn't worried, the house was obviously empty. I wasn't really expecting to find anything but I had every intention of going over the room on hands and knees if I had to. I wasn't leaving that house without something to track.
I opened the door and stopped short. There was an envelope laying in the middle of the floor, bright white against the dark floorboards. I walked over to it and knelt down to look it over. Just an ordinary, letter-sized, envelope with a name scrawled on the front of it in a bold black hand. Huitzilopochtli.
“Blue!” I shouted as I picked it up and opened the seal. Yeah, I know, but I didn't think Blue would mind me opening his mail just this once. Blue appeared in the doorway, backed by everyone else, and stared at the paper in my hand. “You've got mail,” I waved the envelope at him as I began to read. “My dearest cousin, I had wanted to be much further along before I wrote to you about my plans but I've had an unexpected visitor this morning, one who I know has connections to you, and so I took the opportunity to make contact. The whole reason I brought my priests here, to this land in particular, was to garner your attention. So I could hardly pass up the opportunity to acquire it.”
“May I?” Blue motioned to the letter and I handed it over. Instead of reading it aloud, he skimmed it and let out a loud curse before paraphrasing it for us. “He's upset with me for choosing to side with the Godhunter. He says I'm a traitor and that if I don't return to the honorable side of the war, he'll take the rain from Hawaii and destroy the Godhunter's home.”
“As if taking the children weren't bad enough,” I huffed.
“That was merely to get my attention,” Blue sighed. “He took the children from Hawaii because he knew Vervain would notice and then she would involve me.”
“This was all an elaborate set up to get me to pass you a note?” I was fuming.
“No,” Blue waved a calming hand at me. “He was going to take the children anyway, he just took them all from here because he knows this is where you live. This is not your fault, Vervain.”
“Then why do I feel so horrible?”
“Because there's no way to not feel horrible,” Blue crushed the letter in his fist. “He's my family but he's obviously lost his mind. I have to take care of this. Will you help me find a way to stop him?”
“Yeah,” I smirked, “because I'll be damned if I let you go back to the dark side, Vader.”
“What do we do about the bodies?” Pan's normally perky face looked so strange set into sober lines.
“We'll have to make an anonymous call to the police,” I frowned. “Clear away any trace evidence we might have left, like footprints and... other stuff. We don't need to confuse the humans.”
“Wouldn't it be better if we just burn this place down?” Finn looked like he might be following my lead and running out to the front porch soon.
“No,” I bit my lip. “The parents of those children deserve closure. They need to be able to bury their babies. That's the least we can do for them.”
“Closure like that could drive someone insane,” Mrs. E. whispered. “I don't know what would be worse, learning that my child had been killed in such a manner or never knowing what happened at all.”
“Never knowing. Imagination is so much worse than reality, even this reality,” I patted her shoulder, “and it never stops.”
Chapter Thirty-One
We lucked out and found a jacket in one of the rooms. Heaped in a dark corner of a closet, it must have fallen to the floor and been forgotten in the haste of their departure. It was the one bright light in that entire day of darkness. We hadn't caught them but at least we'd be able to track them. Maybe we could catch them unawares and end this whole thing before it went any further.
I was cautiously hopeful and entirely traumatized when we finally got back to Pride Palace.
“Come home with me tonight,” Azrael whispered as he took my hand. “I haven't had a moment alone with you in almost two weeks.”
“Okay,” I nodded, it was a valid complaint. Things had been crazy but that didn't mean it was okay to neglect one of my men. “Let me just talk to Trevor and Kirill.” I brushed my hand over the angelic script tattooed on his left cheek and it glowed for a second.
“I'll wait here.” He leaned against the wall beside the tracing point.
I found Trevor and Kirill in the master bedroom, Kirill standing in front of Trevor as my wolf braided my lion's hair. It was kind of endearing, seeing them together like that, and kind of sad. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled that they'd become so close but sometimes it felt like they'd become a team that held my two other men at bay. I wished they could all be so close. Then I had an image of Trevor braiding Odin's hair and I giggled. Maybe things were better as they were.
They both turned at the sound of my mirth and smiled at me with questions in their eyes. I shook my head and nudged my way in between them, hugging Trevor as Kirill nestled in against my back. It was my favorite way to hold them. Well, I guess they were really holding me but either way, I loved it. Surrounded by delicious smelling men who loved me. What could be better than that? Oh, right, I had an angel waiting.
“Would you guys mind terribly if I spent the night with Azrael?” I pulled back and looked up at them both. Kirill lifted his chin towards Trevor, letting him answer.
“I guess we can make do without you for a night,” he stroked my face. “Will you be back in the morning?”
“Right away,” I kiss
ed him in thanks and then Kirill. “I have to try that tracking spell.” I grabbed a change of clothes and headed out.
“Goodnight, Tima,” Kirill called as I left the room.
“Goodnight, Minn Elska,” Trevor added.
“Goodnight, my magic men.”
I speed walked back to Az, took his hand and let him guide us through the Aether to Shehaquim. We exited right into his home, the gallery hall to be exact, and we just kept walking toward the bedroom. I'd been so exhausted but as soon as we arrived, I felt excited to be with Azrael again and I revived just a little. Funny how lust can do that to you.
“Would you like to take a bath?” His eyes sparkled, literally, the light blue turning to diamond clear and sending rainbows over his cheeks.
“I'd love one,” I laughed as he picked me up and carried me into his opulent bathroom.
Black stone was everywhere, from the tub and sinks, to the floor, and even the walls. Gold sconces held candles but they were unnecessary, the room was lit by some unknown god means that I'd yet been able to figure out. Fixtures were gold and elaborate, handles shaped into wings and spigots into swan heads. There were thick, fluffy, white rugs in front of the sink and tub, shining bright against all that black. He put me down on the one in front of the bathtub.
The tub wasn't as huge as the behemoth at Pride Palace but it wasn't by any means small. You could probably fit three angels in it easily. I smiled to myself over the thought. It sounded like the beginning of a nursery rhyme. Three angels in a tub, rub-a-dub-dub. Or the start of a really good porno. I raised a brow in consideration. I should mention the idea to Pan.
“What's that look about?” Azrael narrowed his gaze on me as he reached over to start the bath. He added some bath salt and swirled his palm through the water to help it dissolve.
“Just imagining you in that tub,” it was mostly the truth.
“Really?” He stood up and stripped with quick, efficient movements.
“Really,” I followed suit and soon we were standing there naked, grinning at each other like a couple of kids about to lose their virginity.
