“He went to the stupid hospital instead of letting me heal him,” Mollis said to me. I measured tea leaves into the little green tea cup I liked. “Tell him how stupid that was.”
I shrugged. “Does it really matter?”
“Thank you,” Brennan said. My gaze darted to him, and I saw way too much muscled flesh before I looked away, my face heating after the odd conversation we’d had the night before.
“You would let me heal you if you were hurt, right?” Mollis pressed me.
“It would depend on how bad it was. It is not as if most of us are in any danger of dying from a cut,” I pointed out.
Mollis rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
“It’s stupid. She heals me all the time,” Nain said.
“Well you get your ass kicked a lot. You need all the help you can get, old man,” Brennan said, standing and pulling his shirt on with a wince. Nain made a rude gesture in his direction, and Brennan grinned.
I stirred my tea around. “Mollis.”
“Yeah, E?”
“Several lesser gods approached me last night. They report that there are some of them that have gone missing. They are asking for my help, and I told them I wanted to inform you of what was happening before I began.”
“How many are missing?”
“Five that we know of. They are still trying to track down others. You know how they are. They all generally do their own thing and we won’t see them for hundreds of years at a time.”
She nodded slowly. “Do you want to help them?”
I met her eyes. “Of course. Tracking… I can do that much. Perhaps I can even see what I can turn up while I look for your lost souls.”
Brennan and the demon were standing, listening to us.
“As long as you want to, it’s fine with me. But I want to be in the loop. I need to know what’s going on.”
I nodded. “Two of them were hoping to meet with us this morning to go over the situation if that would be amenable to you.”
“Sure. I’m about to head to the Netherwoods with Zoe but bring them by and we’ll talk.”
“Perfect. We will see you there shortly, then.” I watched as she scooped Zoe up, and the next instant the two of them were gone. I could feel Tisiphone in the loft, which likely meant that she was caring for Mollis’s son. Artemis was there as well, to take care of Brennan’s son for the day.
“Did your grandmother see you like that?” I asked him, nodding toward his injured shoulder.
“Yes. And she told me I’m too slow,” he said.
I let out a short laugh as the demon walked out, heading out to patrol with other members of the team.
We watched them leave, and after a moment, Brennan continued.“This meeting you’re having with Molly and these lesser gods. I’d like to be there, too. What’s going on might affect my job as well,” he said.
“Very well. I can take you to the Netherwoods when you are ready, and then I will retrieve them.”
He nodded. “I’m going to go get cleaned up a little, and then we can go, if that’s okay?”
“Of course. Take your time,” I said, waving him off. I started hunting through the refrigerator and settled on a cold piece of fried takeout chicken. Really, I was lucky to have gotten to it before Nain, Stone, or Brennan had.
By the time I’d finished my not-precisely-filling breakfast and tea, Brennan was coming out of his room, dressed in the dark suit and tie he usually wore for work, his long hair pulled back, which for some reason made his eyes seem even more vibrant.
Or perhaps that was just me being ridiculous.
He walked over to me, a small smile on his lips. “Have I told you how much I like that coat?”
I glanced down at myself. I had picked up the jacket in Greece during my travels. Black leather, form fitting, and long enough to cover my wings. It had a hood, and a cowl that I was able to pull across the lower half of my face. Thin metal chainmail was imbedded in the stomach area, though it was hidden between the layers of leather, making the jacket both attractive and functional. It was, other than my dagger, my most treasured possession. “No, you have not,” I said.
“I do.”
“Lovely. I do as well,” I said, and he laughed.
“Prickly, Tinkerbell,” he murmured.
I suppressed a sigh and held my hand out. He took it, tangling his fingers with mine, and I tried to ignore the way my skin prickled in awareness at his touch, the way my heart beat just a tiny bit faster.
He did not, though. “Just admit you like me, Eunomia,” he said, smiling.
“You are a completely ridiculous male,” I said, and he squeezed my hand.
“Someday, Tink.”
“Do not hold your breath, cub.”
I shook my head, and focused, and we rematerialized just outside of Mollis’ office in her home in the Netherwoods. Without a word, I pulled my hand from his and focused again, this time on the beach on Belle Isle where I had agreed to meet Eros and Triton. They were there, Eros shifting nervously from foot to foot, hands clasped behind his back. Triton wore a pair of well-worn jeans and a gray t-shirt. He looked like a beach bum, with his flowing red hair and casual clothing. Beside Eros, he looked completely unkempt.
“Can you sense the Nether?” I asked them. I knew most Aether immortals had a hard time sensing it. Once they were able to, they could usually get themselves there without much trouble. Both Eros and Triton shook their heads. I nodded, took Triton’s hand, then Eros’s. “Off we go, then.”
I took them to just outside the Netherwoods and dropped their hands. “You can sense it now, I assume.”
“Oh, sure. Now I can,” Triton said, smiling, and Eros let out a small laugh.
“Come,” I said, and they followed me into the woods. The second we were inside, the sky changed from blue to violet, the trees from green to black, shades of steel gray. We walked silently along the pathway that led to a larger walkway flanked by rows of tall trees that resembled the weeping willows of the human realm. This path led to the entryway of Mollis’ palace. I greeted the large gray demon guarding the door and he bowed slightly, his eyes narrowing as he inspected Eros and Triton.
“She is expecting them,” I told him quietly. He nodded, opened the large door, and let us through. I led the way through the corridors to Mollis’ office. The door was open, and Mollis was in the process of judging a soul. The other gods and I entered the room silently, standing near the door. Tisiphone and Megaera flanked the Goddess of Death, who, like her father before her, chose to stand as she judged the dead, looming above them. On the other side of the throne room/office, Brennan read quietly to Zoe on one of the sofas. I shook my head a little. Mollis had certainly put her mark on what it looked like to be a death deity. So much life surrounded her, even here in the realm of death itself. Eros and Triton watched, listened intently as Mollis judged the soul before her, an older woman who stood with her head bowed before her judge and jury.
“Your name?” Mollis asked. Of course she knew it already. The way Mollis’ powers worked, she could see everything about a person, good and bad, the instant she looked at them. Such was the curse of her powers.
“Theresa Angelino,” the woman said, head still bowed.
“You have been brought before me to be judged. Your time in the mortal realm has come to an end, and the question now is, how much pain did you cause during your life? What things, Mrs. Angelino, do you need to answer for? Be aware that I know them all.”
The woman began speaking in a wavering voice. Arguments she’d had, lies she’d told. All in all, not a terribly harmful life. A life well-lived. She’d loved her family, worshipped her god as best as she could have. She kept her head bowed the entire time, spoke respectfully to the being before her, who, here, in her own realm, did nothing to hide what she was. Mollis’s eyes shone with an almost painfully bright white light, and her enormous wings were no longer enchanted, the tips of them touching the floor. Her waist-length black hair was braided in a thi
ck rope over her shoulder, and the black uniform, the same one her mother and sister wore, fit her like a second skin. Her only adornments were her wedding band, another ring that made it possible for her to become invisible, and a delicate black chain around her neck, with a pair of tiny black wings that hung at the hollow at the base of her throat. She looked every bit the goddess she was, especially there, her Furies and imps lined up to do her bidding, the soul of the dead bowing before her.
It was the fist time I had seen Mollis in the role she had inherited from her father. He had been chilling. Cold. Mollis was not that way yet, and I hoped with everything I was that she would not become so.
“You have lived a good life, Theresa,” Mollis said softly when the woman finished speaking, and tears rolled down the soul’s face. “You have minor sins to atone for, which you will do at the hands of the Fury Tisiphone.” She transferred her gaze to her mother. “Ensure she relives any pain she caused by her deeds, and then she can go to the Fields.”
“Yes, my Lady,” Tisiphone said. She stepped toward the soul, who clasped her hands as if in prayer.
“Thank you, my Lady,” the soul said.
“Go and be cleansed of your sins,” Mollis said, and everyone in the room watched as Tisiphone led the soul of Theresa Angelino away. Mollis saw me, nodded, then turned to her aunt.
“I have something I need to do here. I will call when I am ready for the next one.”
“Yes, Mollis,” Megaera said. She left, closing the double doors that led into the corridors behind her. I watched Mollis take a deep breath. I knew she hated things like this. Meeting other immortals. Her experience, though not nearly as long as ours, told her that an immortal was usually nothing but trouble. And, in that, she was absolutely correct.
“Mollis Eth-Hades, may I present Triton, son of Poseidon, and Eros, son of Ares and Aphrodite,” I said, falling into the formality of life in the Nether as easily as breathing.
Mollis stood, studying both gods. I knew she was sizing them up, that she was seeing them the way only she could. Their sins. Their good moments and bad. Their lies, the harm they’d caused. I could only imagine how overwhelming that might be, upon seeing someone who had thousands of years worth of actions to sort through. As she did, I felt Brennan come up behind me, Tisiphone having come to claim Zoe and take her from the room for the meeting. I stepped back, next to Brennan, more than happy to let the other gods talk to Mollis as I observed.
“Isn’t he the one who kidnapped Meaghan?” Brennan asked me softly, leaning toward me, nodding toward Eros.
“Yes.”
“Is he suicidal?” he asked, and I bit back a smile.
The initial barrage of information seemingly over, Mollis took a deep breath and nodded first to Triton, then Eros.
“Triton, it is nice to meet you. Your father is an honorable god,” Mollis said, and Triton bowed deeply.
“Thank you, my Lady. He speaks highly of you as well. I meant to come before. Please accept my apologies for not doing so.”
Mollis smiled a little. “Apology accepted. How is your father?”
“He is well, thank you. Last I heard, he was spending some time in the Arctic. He is amused by walruses,” he said with a shrug, and it seemed as if Mollis was hiding a laugh.
“I will have to ask him about that some time,” she said.
“I think it’s the way they move on land,” Triton said, imitating their waddle. “You should see the way he laughs at them sometimes,” he finished, and Mollis did laugh then, shaking her head.
“All right, then. It is nice to meet you.” She turned to Eros. “Eros,” she said, the warmth gone from her voice.
“My Lady,” Eros answered, head bowed.
“I believe Hephaestus owes you a few punches to your stupid perfect nose. You should let him do that.”
I saw Eros gulp. Hephaestus has a mean swing when he is angry. “Yes, my Lady.”
“Good. Now, Eunomia tells me we have a few immortals missing. This,” she said, gesturing toward Brennan, “is Artemis’s grandson, Brennan. Also the head of supernatural affairs here in the city. This affects his work as well.” Triton nodded, seeming to take Brennan’s measure. Mollis continued. “What can you tell me?”
She gestured toward the sofas near the fireplace, and she sat in a chair nearby. Triton and Eros settled onto one sofa, and Brennan and I sat on the one across from them. I listened and watched as Triton did most of the talking, filling Mollis and Brennan in on what was going on. I was amused. His gestures hadn’t changed at all. He still rubbed his hand across his beard when he was thinking. He still sat the same, elbows resting on his knees, leaning forward as he talked.
“So how did you find out they were missing? Who told you?” I asked him after he had given Mollis and Brennan the basics of what he’d already told me.
“Eros came to me,” he said, meeting my eyes.
“And Iris came to me,” Eros said, picking up the rest of the answer. “After the two Seasons went missing.”
“She is still close to the Seasons, then?” I asked, and both Eros and Triton nodded.
“All right. So that explains how you all knew about Eiar and Thelos,” I said. “What about the rest? Nemesis?”
“Iris told us about those, too. She knew I’d be worried about Nemesis, especially,” Eros said.
“Nemesis?” Brennan asked quietly, leaning in toward me.
“Zeus’s daughter. Goddess of vengeance.”
“Oh.”
“She is quite nice, actually. Not at all what you are likely picturing.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” he said, and I hid a smile.
“All those who have gone missing are immortals I consider friends. I think Eunomia would as well,” Triton said.
“Well. I would not go that far. I would be unhappy if they were harmed,” I said, and Triton smiled at me.
“Still a loner then?” he asked with a smile.
“I keep very exhilarating company. My own,” I told him, and he laughed, his eyes warming, crinkling at the corners.
I could sense Brennan’s eyes on me. Mollis was watching me, and I wonder what she saw. I chose not to dwell on it. Wishing she could not see everything I was ashamed of was pointless, at the very least.
“Mollis has given her blessing, and I intend to track the missing immortals as you asked,” I said, looking at Eros, then Triton. “I am currently working on a few other projects, but I can fit this in with the other roles I have. I need to know where they were last seen and who was with them at the time. I need to know if they were angry with anyone, involved with anyone—“
“Romantically, you mean?” Triton asked.
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“Because it may be important.”
“Why?” he pressed.
“Because very often when someone goes missing, the person they were fucking, or someone who wishes they were that person, was the one who made it happen,” Mollis put in, studying Triton.
“She has some experience in this matter,” I said.
“I was involved with Thelos for a while. We grew bored of one another, though,” he admitted, looking uncomfortable. “I had nothing to do with her disappearance.”
I looked at Mollis, met her eyes, and she gave a nearly imperceptible nod. I released a breath I wasn’t aware I had been holding, relieved that I would not have to see Triton as some kind of psycho. Brennan seemed tenser than usual beside me on the sofa, and when I glanced at him, he was watching Triton, an unreadable look in his eyes.
“Nemesis,” I said, bringing the conversation back around. “Was she involved with anyone?”
Eros shook his head. “You know her. She could have been a Guardian, as little interest as she has in stuff like that. No offense,” he said to me, and I kept my face blank.
“Was she in any type of disagreement or anything like that with anyone?”
He shook his head. “Not that I know of. She always kept pretty
much to herself, except for me. But she went off for a while. She wanted to visit some of the old temples. I think she was feeling lost, considering how much things have changed,” he said with a glance toward Mollis. “It has been unsettling.”
“For everyone. I know,” Mollis said. “All right. Eunomia is going to help you. My only demand is that I be kept informed of the status of the search, and she has agreed to do so. Know that anything Eunomia finds out, I will know as well. If there is any kind of fuckery that I see as a threat to my realm or my friends or family, there will be pain.” She paused. “So know that. If she finds something… if one of you had anything to do with any of this, and she doesn’t mess you up first, I most definitely will.” Then she smiled, that smile that has, rightfully so, been rumored to have made demons and other monsters lose control of their bodily functions. “But knowing E, there won’t be much left for me to do.”
“Oh, I think I can save some for you, if it becomes necessary,” I said, and she nodded.
“I hope you find them. I hope you deal with whoever did it. None of them were the types who had grudges against them. None of them were causing trouble. They were all peaceful, quiet beings. I don’t understand what’s happening. What could anyone hope to gain by taking one of us?” Eros asked.
“Why are we assuming they’ve been taken?” Brennan asked. “Maybe they just took off.”
“Nemesis would have told me,” Eros said, shaking his head. “I can’t contact her. That’s never happened.”
“And Thelos and Eiar would not have gone off without their sisters,” Triton said, looking to me for confirmation.
“The Seasons are very close. Inseparable,” I said to Brennan. “If they are missing, it is not of their own choosing. The two of them disappearing this way is all the proof I need that something is wrong here.”
Brennan nodded.
“Where were they last seen?” I asked. At this point, it was clear this was my meeting to run. Mollis was sitting back, watching. I knew after working with her so closely that she would fill me in later, in private, if anything had struck her as odd, or if she’d seen anything that might help me.
Guardian (Hidden Book 6) Page 8
