We waited with him in silence, but four hours later, there was no change, except that Baxter’s stomach was growling.
“There’s still a chance,” he said. “I’ll work on it, see if I can find a way to cure you. But for now…”
“I’m stuck,” Baxter said dully. “Back to being a flesh eater. A creature of the night. One of the unclean.”
He stalked off. I started to follow him, but Doc shook his head. “Give him some time, Nyx,” he said. “It’s hard to have hope snatched away like that.”
“ ‘The thing with feathers,’ ” I quoted Emily Dickinson. “ ‘That perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.’ ”
From the look on Baxter’s face, though, we’d taken the last bit of hope away from him.
Chapter Thirty-Four
My magical abilities had changed since the loss of my arm. I’d finally worked my way back up to a compulsion spell. I was ready to find the bead, whether or not Wren was ready to give it to me.
“No time like the present,” I said. I’d need to be able to sustain a concealment spell as well, if I had any chance of sneaking up on Wren. I managed to hold the spell long enough to test it out on Talbot, who was in the hospital stockroom, organizing the supplies.
He didn’t notice me until I knocked over a stack of bandages. He swore and looked around.
“Reveal,” he said.
The spell held. “It’s me,” I said.
“Nyx, I should have guessed,” he said. He addressed the air about twenty feet away from me. “I thought I saw your shadow.”
The effort of holding the spell was making me sweat, so I released it.
“There you are,” Talbot said. “Practicing?”
“I’m off to find Wren,” I said. “And get Hecate’s Eye back.”
“Want me to come with?” Talbot asked.
“No, I just wanted someone to know in case I don’t come back.”
“You’ll be back. Like a bad penny,” he said.
I grinned at his tone, which held equal parts affection and annoyance.
I’d learned a few things from the Fates’ Tracker. People were afraid to talk about Hecate’s daughter, but at the end of the day, I finally caught a break.
It took too much energy to maintain the concealment spell. Besides, I was hungry. I grabbed a taco at Midtown Market. The place was full, mostly mortals there for happy hour, but I finally spotted three sprites sitting at a table, a pitcher of margaritas in front of them.
“Good day, ladies,” I said. “Have you seen this woman?” I held up a picture of Wren.
“Yes, I’ve seen her,” a wood sprite whispered. “In the woods.”
“That doesn’t exactly narrow it down for me,” I said. “There are trees everywhere in Minneapolis.”
The two other sprites giggled.
“She goes to the place where she was born,” she replied.
The place where she was born? The place Sawyer had shown me. “Many thanks.”
I picked up the Caddy and headed back to the wildlife reserve. I found my way to the cave. I would try to keep my promise to Sawyer, but it wouldn’t be easy. Wren wouldn’t make it easy.
There were dozens of candles burning inside the cave. It still smelled mossy and damp and there was a steady drip somewhere, probably coming from an underground stream.
Wren wore topside clothes—jeans, an Eternity Road T-shirt I’d given her, and boots. The caves were cold at night, even in summer.
“There’s no place like home,” I said.
“Hello, Nyx,” Wren said. “I wondered when I’d see you again.”
“Hello, Wren,” I replied. “Give me the bead and nobody has to get hurt.” My heart beat loudly in my chest. Despite everything that had happened, I didn’t want to hurt Wren.
“You are my first visitor,” she said, ignoring my demand. “Would you like some tea?”
“Is it hemlock tea? I’ll pass.”
I didn’t see a red Tria Prima robe and her soft skin was free of any burns. If she hadn’t been the watcher at Morta’s apartment, who was it?
“I’m hurt,” she said. “I did save your life, after all.”
“You mean you slit my throat and left me to bleed out,” I replied. I took a seat on a boulder. “And because of your mother, I’m missing something.”
Her eyes went to the empty sleeve of my jacket.
“What makes you think I have the bead?” she asked.
“You need an insurance policy,” I said. “You liked your taste of freedom, and keeping the bead is your way of keeping your independence.”
Her pseudo-pleasant demeanor disappeared. “That’s right,” she snarled. “If I won’t give it to my mother, what makes you think I’ll give it to you?”
“This,” I said. The compulsion spell flowed from my fingers. “Give me the bead.”
“You disappoint me, son of Fortuna,” she said. “Using a necromancer’s trick. That won’t work with me.”
“No, but this will,” I said. I used a concealment spell and disappeared.
“Reveal yourself, son of Fortuna,” she cried. Wren was the daughter of a goddess, but I had Hades and Lady Fortuna on my side.
And I was sneakier. I’d spotted the chain around her neck when I first got there. While Wren was distracted by my disappearance, I slipped a finger under the necklace and yanked.
Her arm came out to block me, but the crimson eye bead appeared, rising from Wren’s creamy cleavage. I stuffed it into my pocket and left. Wren’s curses followed me, but I ignored her. I had what I wanted. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Wren. She was alone. Had Hecate abandoned her?
Part of me wanted to go back and fold her into a comforting embrace, but then I remembered how she’d viciously attacked Rebecca. Wren was her mother’s daughter and I couldn’t afford to show her any tenderness.
When I returned to the Upper Post, Trey had been moved to a room near the rest of us. I went to visit him. I had the bead, but I didn’t know what to do with it.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Like I’m ready to get out of this bed,” he said.
I laughed.
“I’m grateful, Nyx Fortuna,” he said. “The House of Poseidon is in your debt. We will stand with you.” He held out his hand.
“We could use allies,” I admitted. I clasped his hand.
“Maybe there’s something I can do,” he suggested. “I want to help,” he added when he saw the protest written on my face.
“The best thing you can do is rest,” I said. “It’s not over. Hecate will attack again. And next time, we might not have advance notice.”
“Quarreling isn’t going to get us anywhere,” he said, seeming to concede.
“What do you remember about getting bit?” I asked him.
“Nothing,” he said.
But somehow I didn’t believe him.
Ambrose strode into the room. “Do you feel like a visitor, Trey?”
“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Ambrose,” Trey replied.
Ambrose smiled broadly. “Thank you, Trey, but it’s not me. Luke Seren is at the gate and would like to see you.”
“Luke is here?” Trey’s expression was unreadable.
“I can tell him you’re too tired for visitors,” Ambrose offered.
“No, send him in,” Trey said.
Ambrose left and returned a few minutes later with Luke in tow.
“Trey, so good to see you,” Luke said.
“Is it?”
A tense silence fell. Ambrose and I exchanged glances.
“Nyx, let’s give them some privacy,” Ambrose said.
I looked at Trey, who gave me a short nod.
Shortly after Luke left, I looked in on Trey. He was already sleeping soundly. When I went to check on him a couple of hours later, Trey was gone.
Chapter Thirty-Five
We sent out a search party, but there was no sign of Trey. Willow was fra
ntic. “He’s dead,” she said.
“You don’t know that,” Naomi said.
For the first time, Willow seemed to notice my cousin. “I do.”
“We’ll check his house. We’ll find him, I promise,” I told her.
We took the Caddy. I snuck glances at her as I drove, but Willow kept her gaze on a distant point outside her window. Naomi tried to talk to her, but eventually gave up when her efforts were met with silence.
Trey’s house was empty, but I refused to give up. “Where else would he go?”
“To the water,” Willow said.
That didn’t narrow it down much in Minneapolis. The city was full of lakes.
“Does he have a favorite place?”
She nodded. “The river where he was born.”
Trey was born in the Minnesota River, which wasn’t far from the abandoned fort. Willow and I took the Caddy, but when we arrived, naiads had already gathered near the Mendota Bridge.
The naiads began to weep even before we found Trey floating facedown in the river, but Willow remained stone-faced.
It took two of us to pull his body out of the water. From the marks around his neck, he’d been strangled. I bent and took a closer look. There were fingerprints around Trey’s neck, but there were only nine of them.
“Who would want to kill Trey?”
“Seren,” I said. “He wants to consolidate his power.”
“Why do you think it’s Seren?” Naomi asked.
“Know anybody else missing his right ring finger?” I pointed to Trey’s neck.
“He has to pay,” one of the naiads muttered.
Willow’s head whipped around. “Leave him to me,” she said. And for a moment, I caught a glimpse of the rage she felt.
I drew her aside. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that vengeance will eat you alive from the inside. Let it go.”
“That is not the way of my people,” she said.
“Maybe those ways should change,” I said.
She pulled away from me. “Says the man who came to Minneapolis seeking vengeance.”
“And look how that turned out,” I said.
“Do not meddle in my affairs,” Willow told me. “It is time we return my uncle to the water.”
It was a naiad funeral tradition. No outsiders. I’d been to one, though, when my mother and I had lived with a colony of naiads on the island of Capri. They weighted the body down with stones and sang as the current carried it away and it sank.
* * *
Luke Seren had taken over the House of Poseidon and the House of Hades. He had been the one who betrayed us. I was sure he’d killed Trey, too. He’d been stupid enough to think that Hecate would protect him. He’d made his move and I’d been two steps behind the entire time.
Danvers’s death had allowed him to take over the House of Hades. He was arrogant enough to think she’d keep her word. Sounded uncomfortably familiar. But that hadn’t been enough for him. He’d killed Trey for more power.
I paced up and down outside the Dead House. It was stifling hot and the weather only increased my rage.
“Johnny Asari is on the run,” Talbot said.
“He’s welcome here if he shows up,” I said.
“Thanks, Nyx,” Rebecca said.
“I’m surprised he survived the takeover.” Maybe there was more to him than what I’d seen. Or maybe that was what he had wanted me to see: an aging frat boy whose biggest goals were to party and get laid.
Talbot nodded. “He took out six demons before he escaped. Luke wasn’t expecting a fight; otherwise, Johnny wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
I wasn’t so sure about that.
Johnny showed up around sunset. “You’ve got to get out of here,” he said. “Luke has been spying on you for Hecate.” His face was battered and swollen and one of his arms was stuck at an odd angle.
“We already know,” Rebecca told him. He swept her into his arms and kissed her. She resisted for a second before returning his kiss.
I cleared my throat and they broke apart. My sister blushed.
“I hate to break up the happy reunion,” I said, “but, Johnny, is there anything you can tell us about Luke’s plans?”
Rebecca blushed even more.
“He wants to run all four Houses,” Johnny said. “Hecate doesn’t care. She’s been tearing Minneapolis apart looking for something.”
Claire and I exchanged glances. “Any idea what?” I asked.
“No clue,” Johnny said. “But she’s pretty pissed at her daughter. Banished her.”
I held out my hand. “Thanks, Johnny,” I said. “Rebecca will show you where to sleep.” The last part made my sister blush even more.
“Get the word out that if anyone spots him, they’re to leave Luke Seren to me,” I said.
“He should be easy enough to find,” Johnny said mildly. “Hecate gave him Danvers’s old house on Magician’s Row.”
“That house belongs to Willow,” I snapped.
“What would a naiad want with a house like that?” Talbot asked.
“Doesn’t matter if she wants to turn it into kindling. It’s hers,” I said. “Hecate took enough from her.”
Despite their protests, I headed to Magician’s Row alone. Luke must have expected that I’d be coming for him because the place was on lockdown. It had been triple-warded and booby-trapped with some very nasty spells.
I was patient, though. He’d have to come out eventually, and I’d be waiting.
Luke finally exited the house, but not before sending out a few demons to sniff the air first. I dragged them to the side yard and dispatched them quickly. I didn’t want any black demon blood to get on the front sidewalk and alert Luke I was there.
He came out flanked by two more demons. “Goshay, get the car.”
I had my athame at Luke’s throat before the demons took two steps. I was tempted to slit his throat, but wanted to find out what he’d told Hecate.
“You’re coming with me,” I said. I pressed the knife into his flesh until a drop of blood welled. “Or I can slit your throat before these two have time to blink.”
The bigger demon growled, but Luke made a curt gesture and the demon subsided.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, Fortuna,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Fortune favors the bold,” I replied. “Now let’s go.”
I shoved him into the Caddy on the driver’s side and slid in beside him.
“They’ll kill you before you reach the fort,” Luke sneered.
I laughed, but it was a hard sound. “What you don’t realize is that you’re expendable to her,” I said.
That shut him up until we reached the fort. I yanked him out of the car and shoved him in front of me. “Walk.”
Talbot saw me coming. “Nyx, what’s going on?”
“Later, Talbot,” I said. “Right now, Luke and I need to have a little chat.”
I shut the door to the Dead House and locked it. He hadn’t tried to fight back, but I expected that to change soon.
The attack came as soon as I turned my back. He tried to send a curse my way, but I deflected it. I slammed a spell back at him that left him unable to move. I tied him up anyway. The effects of the spell were only temporary.
“You’re a better politician than you are a magician,” I told him.
“And you’re better dead than you are alive,” he said.
“You took down the wards, didn’t you? That’s what you and Trey argued about. So you killed him.”
He sneered at me. “It was easy. Trey barely even fought back.”
“I’m going to kill you,” I said.
“You won’t kill me,” he said. “You don’t have the balls.”
“You’re right,” I said. “I won’t kill you, but it’s not because I don’t have the cojones.”
“Indulge my curiosity,” he said. “If it’s not cowardice, what is it?”
I gave him my most unpleasant smile. “You’re
about to find out.”
I didn’t relish violence, but for Luke, I’d make an exception. I took out my athame.
“I want to know how to release the power in the bead,” I said.
Either he was a good actor, or he wasn’t faking his perplexed look. “I don’t know anything about the bead,” he said. “I thought you were looking for the harpy feather.”
I took a closer look at his hands. One of his wrists had a burn mark on it.
“You were the person I saw in the Tria Prima robes,” I said. “You set the wraiths on us.”
“Dark magic isn’t as hard as it sounds,” he said. “And it gets easier every time.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said. I gave him a wide smile. “But I’m not looking for the harpy feather anymore.”
I’d managed to wipe the smug smile from his face. “Why not?”
“Because I already found it.”
“You couldn’t have,” he said. “No, you’re lying.” His face had gone pale.
I leaned in closer. “Afraid the boss isn’t going to be happy? It’s not Hecate you should be afraid of, it’s me.”
Something in my eyes seemed to convince him, because he cringed.
Doc interrupted. “Nyx, I hate to bother you in the middle of an interrogation, but I have news.”
“I’ll be right out,” I said. To Luke, I said, “Don’t go anywhere.”
He glared. “Very funny. I’m tied to this chair.”
“And you’d better still be here when I get back,” I replied.
Doc paced outside. “What is it?” I asked him.
“Hecate’s been spotted,” he said. “She killed five people from the House of Zeus and strung them up on the Third Avenue Bridge.”
“Damn it,” I said. “I’m trying to get something out of Luke.”
At my father’s look, I added, “Without using a compulsion spell. I’m using good old-fashioned threats of dire pain.”
“Good,” he said.
When I went back inside to continue the interrogation, Luke was still there. But he was dead.
He’d managed to swallow something. Or maybe someone else had gotten to him.
“Doc, come here,” I shouted.
Doc entered the room in his usual twitchy way, but stopped when he saw the body. “What happened?” The question sounded like an accusation.