Chapter Nine
After dragging Kirill and Viper away from the baby animals, we headed home—my husbands and I to Pride Palace, and Hades to the Greek Underworld.
Hades wasn't thrilled, but there wasn't anything more for him to do.
We wouldn't know if we were going to Naraka for a while.
So, we promised to text him with any news.
We'd been making that promise a lot lately.
“How did it go?” Trevor came into the entry hall from outside.
We froze.
“What?” Trevor demanded.
Odin came in after him, looked at our faces, and cursed. “Frozen Fudgesicles!”
“Souls aren't getting where they're supposed to be.” I glanced around them. “Where are the kids?”
“The older ones are doing schoolwork, and the twins are having a nap.” Trevor nodded toward the veranda. “It was just Odin and me out there. Some of the Intare are off on a run, but they shouldn't be back for a while. Should we sit down?”
“Let's go into the dining hall.” I went in that direction. “I need a drink.”
“I second that notion.” Re followed me, with the others close behind.
We went down the long room along the dining table to the far end. A swinging door took me into the industrial-sized kitchen. I veered around a huge butcher block worktable in the center of the room and went to search the cupboards for something strong. I found a bottle of Duat wine and opened it.
Re grabbed some glasses while Viper took some bottles of hellbrew out of the refrigerator. We returned to the dining hall and sat at the table where the other men were waiting.
“Tell us,” Odin said.
“And why are you with them, Az?” Trevor added.
“Jesus asked me to come by Heaven.” Azrael opened a beer by pulling the cap off with his bare hand. Bottle openers are unnecessary when you're a god. “He texted Vervain as well.”
“The banks of the Lethe were empty.” I poured myself a glass of wine and then passed the bottle to Re. “Charon was surfing.”
Trevor snorted. “That tracks. So where are the souls?”
“That's the question.” Re poured a glass and gave it to Trevor. “While we were in the Greek Underworld, Hades sensed a soul approaching, but then it vanished.”
“Vanished or diverted?” I asked Re.
“I'm guessing the latter.” Re looked back at the others. “Hades said it slipped away. He believes it was taken from him.”
“Wait.” Odin leaned onto the table. “Souls are being diverted? By whom?”
“The trickster, of course.” Viper took a swig of beer and then looked around. “What? It has gotta be them.”
The men looked at me.
“It's a possibility,” I admitted. “I was certain at first, but after talking to that soul in Heaven, I'm not so sure.”
“What?” Viper looked baffled. “It's obviously them! Ty vanishes, gods are missing important stuff, and now this. They have to be connected, and that means the trickster is doing this.”
“Look, I know the trickster is crazy, but they believe they are helping people.” I looked around the table. “That has been their motivation from the beginning. I think Ty went willingly with the trickster, but I'm not sure the trickster is behind everything else.”
“Then who?” Trevor asked.
“I don't know. Maybe someone who's impersonating the trickster.”
“That would be a hell of a coincidence,” Azrael said.
“Not if they've been watching us,” I argued. “They may have stolen a bunch of relics and then waited for the trickster to make a move before they began stealing souls.”
They went silent, thinking it over.
Odin had yet to open his bottle of beer. He gripped the base, tapping his index finger on the glass. “Or maybe the trickster took Ty and those god items, and the missing souls are an entirely different issue.”
“Two gods attacking at same time?” Kirill asked.
I considered it. “They're not both attacking, but yes, they've shown up at the same time. As I said, someone could have been watching and waiting. This just doesn't seem like something the trickster would do. There's no reason for them to take souls.”
“Who knows with them?” Viper motioned in the air. “There may very well be a reason that we can't comprehend because it's nutso.”
“Or they've seen the future and are working under that knowledge. But you didn't talk to that soul, Viper. He was wrong. Missing parts . . . of . . .”
“Vervain?” Odin cocked his head.
“He wasn't whole.” I frowned, trying to work through it. “And that voice.”
“What voice?” Trevor asked.
“The soul said he was cold, then he was moving.” I spun my hand as if rolling forward. “When he stopped, he heard a voice that said, 'analysis complete.'”
“Like a computer program?” Odin asked.
I blinked. “Yes, and then the voice said, 'error.' That sounds like something a computer would say.”
“A.I.,” Azrael murmured, shifting his gaze around the table.
We all went quiet.
Not that long ago, we'd gotten trapped in a magical online game and had to battle a character inspired by the Faerie God. Talk about the rise of the machines.
“Could this be another game?” Trevor asked. “Not a game of the trickster's, but in the Internet?”
“Oh, my goodness,” I whispered. “The Inter Realm. That sounds more like it. Could we have infected the Inter Realm with Wild Magic?”
“No, that game was confined to a mainframe,” Odin said, even as he looked worried.
“Analysis complete,” I whispered. “A computer system is analyzing souls!”
“What about the error?” Re asked. “Was that why the soul reached Heaven? The computer malfunctioned, sending it where it was originally headed?”
“Yes!” I pointed at him. “That must be it! And if it is the Internet, it would explain the timing. The Inter Realm lies over the Human Realm. It would see everything, know everything, and it could calculate the best time to start its plan.”
“The Terminator,” Viper whispered. “Whoa. The movie was a warning.”
“Shut up.” Re rolled his eyes. “Why would the Internet start collecting souls?”
“If it's infected with Wild Magic, there wouldn't have to be a reason. The magic could even make it sentient.” Azrael clenched his hands on the table. “I need to handle this.”
“These are only theories,” Odin reminded us. “Where would the Inter Realm put souls? In a mainframe?”
I gaped at him.
“Whoa,” Viper whispered. “Batteries. Humans are batteries!”
“Would you stop with the Terminator crap?” Re growled.
“He's not wrong.” Odin scowled. “We've used their worship to power us for centuries. If the Inter Realm is becoming self-aware, it may very well be hunting for its own energy source. Then it wouldn't have to rely on humans to feed it. It could take what it needed.”
“Holy cannolis,” Viper whispered.
This time, no one told him to shut up.
“Magical A. I.,” Azrael murmured. “Maybe I should shut down the power on Earth for a few weeks. That would kill it.”
“Shut down.” I gaped at Az. “Oh, crap. Maybe that's how the Wild Magic got into the Internet. Everything went down when the Wild Magic first hit.”
“And it's been lying in vait all zis time?” Kirill asked.
“No, it hasn't.” I flung my hand out. “It's been working. First, that game inside the machine to test us. Now, it's coming out.”
The room went silent.
After a few minutes, Odin said, “Again, these are only theories. As much as that makes sense, it's only a guess. I suggest we explore every possibility. Frankly, I think it's more likely that this is the trickster—all of it.”
“Really?” I asked. “But—”
He motioned to stop me. “I don't know, Vervain. I think I'm hoping it's the trickster. It would be easier to deal with them than an entire realm.”
“Where would the trickster even put human souls?” Trevor asked. And then he blinked. “Naraka. He's putting them in Naraka!”
I glanced at Re, who grimaced. “Yes, we considered that. I think we should tell Fenrir, but they disagree with me.”
“Who disagrees?” Trevor looked at Re. “You?”
“And me,” Viper said. “If we go to Naraka, the trickster will have the upper hand.”
“Even Torrent was helpless there,” Re added. “And if you tell Fenrir, he will go. Danger or not.”
“And so will I!” Trevor snarled as he stood up and slammed his hands onto the table. “He's my brother.”
“Who may not want to be found,” Re said gently.
Trevor growled.
Odin stood up and put a hand on Trevor's shoulder. “We are family. If you go, we will go with you. They just want you to consider what we'll be facing. We have children to think of. A good life. Are you sure you're willing to risk all of that for Ty when we know he's safe?”
“We don't know that.”
“Yes, we do. The trickster loves him. They won't hurt Ty. Have some faith in your brother.”
Kirill, seated beside me, sighed and stood up. He went around the table to take Trevor's shoulders in his hands and turn Trevor to face him. “Ve go.”
Trevor's shoulders fell.
“Whoa, now.” Viper stood up. “You two don't get to decide for all of us.”
Kirill looked at Viper. “Ve need to see if souls are zere. Zis isn't just about Ty.”
“He's got a good point.” I took a deep swig of wine. “I vote to go.”
“I'm going with or without all of you.” Trevor stepped away from Kirill. “You should stay, brother. Protect the kids.”
Kirill made a rude sound. “You go, I go.”
“All of us go, you fart head,” Viper huffed. “You know that's how it is. You've just basically taken our say away.”
Trevor sighed. “I can't leave him there.”
“Dude, you don't even know that's where he is.”
“No, but there's a good chance.”
“Trevor, what if you invade Naraka with the Froekn, and the trickster goes on the defensive?” Re stood up and looked around the table at us before settling his gaze on Trevor again. “How will that help Ty?”
Trevor leaned onto the table. “Then what do you suggest?”
“We go in, just a few of us. Peacefully. We don't tell Fenrir until after we're back and we know for certain if Ty is there.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I like that plan. Plus, you're forgetting that we need Torrent to get past the wards. He may not want to go back to Naraka.”
Trevor pulled his phone out of his pocket and sat down. “You're right. I'll text Torrent.” He typed into his phone and then set it down. “If he agrees, we'll go in without my father.”
Re exhaled in relief. “Good. Who will go?”
“Well, I'm going,” I said.
“You're too important to go,” Azrael said.
“No, you're too important to go, Faerie God. I have to go. I'm the strongest magically, and the trickster likes me. I'm the reason they came after us. I'm going.”
“She's right; you need to stay behind, Az,” Odin said. “I'll go.”
“And I,” Viper said.
“You need to stay, Kirill,” Trevor said again.
“Nyet.”
“You are the Lion God. The Intare need you.”
“I am also Death God. Ve have trinity.”
“But Azrael isn't going.”
“Maybe I should,” Azrael said. “Naraka is a hell. What better place for us?”
I rubbed my head. “Someone needs to stay here, and I think it should be a father.”
“All the fathers are going.” Az got up. “Maybe our children's mother should be with them.”
“We just agreed that this would be a peaceful mission!” I shot to my feet. “We are not going in with a death trinity. You are staying behind, Azrael! And so are you, Kirill! That's the end of it.”
“Uh, La-la?” Re motioned at my hands.
I looked down. My hands were sparkling—the power of the Trinity Star responding to my anger. But it wasn't bright, pure light. It was dark. Even worse, inside me, I felt an alien touch. It was barely discernible, but there. What the hell?
“Oh, Ferris Bueller!” I shouted, shaking my hands until the light went out.
“Take a breath,” Azrael said.
“Don't you tell me to calm down!”
The men backed away, even Re got up to ease away from me. All but Viper. He came forward.
“Starlight.” Viper wrapped me in his arms. “You're all right. You're good, remember? We all have darkness inside us. Yours just manifests visibly.” He eased back to look at me. “But you are in control of your magic, even your star.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Thank you.”
He kissed my forehead. “Do you think I would have come out of the Void and put up with your darkness if I wasn't absolutely certain that your goodness would win? I know you. That's why I love you so damn much.”
“I love you too.” I snuggled into his arms.
“Well, I guess he is good for something,” Odin drawled.
I looked up.
“I will go,” Odin continued. “But Kirill and Azrael will stay behind.”
“I am going!” Kirill growled.
“Thank you, brother.” Ty clasped Kirill's shoulder. “But, please, stay with our children. I need you here.”
Kirill grimaced.
“Don't worry. We'll be okay. We know to be careful this time. If things go bad, we'll leave.”
Trevor's phone dinged.
Trevor picked it up and read the message. “Torrent's on his way.”