“You’re probably right about that. Just because Shadow Wing is unstable doesn’t mean he’s stupid.” Menolly let out a disgusted sound. “I hate these fucking demons. I just wish this were done with. Why don’t we do what we had planned to do? Let’s gate Shadow Wing over here and take him out?”
“If we’re going to do that, then we have to plan it out step by step. We can’t take any chances or go off half-cocked. We also need to find someone strong enough to gate him over here. That’s going to be one hell of a sorcerer.” Trillian shook his head. “We have to be smart about this. I know we all want the war over and done. And now that the Keraastar Knights are together, we actually have a chance. But we can’t allow ourselves to screw up. If we were to gate Shadow Wing here and not be able to kill him, he’d have free rein. Do we really want that?”
“All right. It’s settled. We start planning for this. But first, let me tell you about Shade. I asked Venus to examine him—we needed a shaman. Shade’s trapped in the Land of Wandering Souls. It’s a plane of existence in the realm of the Harvestmen. Venus can’t travel there to bring him back, so I have to contact the Autumn Lord. Looks like I’m the one who has to find his soul.”
“What happens if you don’t—or rather, can’t?” Iris asked.
“Then he’ll be lost forever. To further complicate matters, the longer I wait, the more chance there is that I’ll never be able to find him and bring him back to his body. So I have to move quickly.” I slumped back in my chair, exhausted. “I can’t believe that just a few hours ago I was out shopping for my wedding dress, and now I have to find my fiancé’s soul. Can’t anything in our lives ever be simple? Can’t anything ever go right for a change?”
All of the adrenaline that had coursed through my body during the fight and at the hospital suddenly vanished, leaving a wave of grief in its wake. I felt like I was drowning, unable to surface, and suddenly I realized that I was sitting there in my tabby form. I hadn’t even felt the transformation, I had been so numb.
I looked around, and spying Camille, leapt into her lap. I pressed myself against her heart, shivering. She wrapped her arms around me, holding me as she cooed to me. I couldn’t stop shaking, and I let out a mew, aware that I should be trying to transform back, I should be trying to help Shade, but right now I felt frozen and numb and afraid.
“It’s all right, Kitten. Everything’s going to be okay. We’ll make sure of it. We’ll do everything we can to help. It’s all right, just snuggle up against me right now.” She looked over at Iris and said something that I couldn’t catch.
I buried myself in her arms, taking a moment to breathe, to feel safe and secure. Camille had always protected me when we were little. She had stuck up for me when the other kids teased me. She had thrown punches when they tried to trigger me into turning into a cat and then chased me up a tree. She had beat the living crap out of several neighborhood boys when they pushed me into the water, knowing full well how phobic I was. And now, all I wanted was to curl up in her arms and feel safe.
She stood, carrying me, and headed into the parlor followed by Menolly, who brought two of the battery-operated candles. Iris followed behind, bringing Maggie. Camille settled down on the sofa, petting me gently, calming me down.
“It’s all right, Kitten. It’s all going to be okay. I promise you. We’ll find Shade and bring him back into his body. Everything will be all right.” Her voice was gentle, soothing, and I started to purr.
A moment later Iris began to sing softly, and the song turned into a second, and then a third.
Menolly was sitting on the floor playing with Maggie. She looked up at me as I cuddled in Camille’s lap. “Would you like to play with Maggie? Maggie needs a hug.”
Maggie let out a giggle and reached out her arms toward me. She wasn’t allowed to play with me without supervision when I was in tabby form, given she was still too rough with other animals and children. I realized that I hadn’t spent much time with her the past few days. Feeling slightly guilty, I stretched, gave Camille’s hand a lick, and delicately stepped off of her lap. I jumped onto the floor, and in a moment, had turned back into myself.
Neither of my sisters said anything as I gathered Maggie in my arms. Iris held out a sack, and when I peeked inside, I saw a bag of Cheetos.
“Bless you.” I settled myself on the other end of the sofa, crossing my legs so Maggie could sit in my lap. As I tore open the bag, stuffing a fistful of the orange puffs into my mouth, I realized that I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. But the confusion and fear had died down.
After finishing off half the bag, I set it on the floor, snuggling Maggie as she flapped her wings gently. Her fur was growing longer. Woodland calico gargoyles grew into being about as furry as a panda bear, and the swirls of color were growing more vivid and beautiful. She would be a toddler for decades to come, growing slowly over the years, and sometimes I wondered what it would be like for her living with me as the years progressed.
Maggie’s native environment was the woodlands of Otherworld, but the little gargoyle was an orphan. She’d been raised in a food mill by harpies, rescued by Camille during a fight on the Space Needle. She had never known what it was like to be with her own kind except when she was very, very young. Her mother’s spirit occasionally visited us, dropping in to check on her baby.
“Are you going to contact Greta tonight?”
I bowed my head, staring down at Maggie. “I should, but I’m so tired. I’m exhausted.”
“Well, you’re not staying here, that much I’ll tell you. Not while Yerghan the Blade is still out there running around free. Everybody is coming back to my Barrow with me.” Camille looked at Menolly. “Can you and Nerissa come, too? Will Roman mind? This matter concerns all of us.”
Menolly gave her a shrug. “It doesn’t matter what Roman says. Nerissa and I will come with you. Besides, he’s really busy right now with some sort of political thing. We haven’t been able to talk much the past few weeks. But is there a space for me to safely sleep, come the morning?”
“Oh, we’ll make sure that you’re safe. Plus, most of the Barrow is belowground, so you’ll be safe from the sunlight. And my guards can be trusted to watch over you.” Camille turned back to me. “So, do you need to contact Greta before we leave?”
I let out a breath. “I suppose I might as well try. Maggie should leave the room, though. I need as little distraction as possible.”
As Menolly carried Maggie back out to the living room, Camille shifted so that I could lay down on the sofa and stretch out. Usually it was Greta who came to me, but I knew how to get to Haseofon without her. I had been a Death Maiden long enough to know exactly how to transfer myself over to the Autumn Lord’s realm.
As I lowered myself into the trance that would allow me to move through dimensions into the realm of Haseofon, the room became very still. At first all I could hear was Camille’s breathing and my own, and then finally, all I could hear was the beat of my heart, slow and rhythmic, calm and quiet.
I summoned up the image of the path in my mind, envisioning the jungle that I knew so well. Usually I traversed this route as Panther, but tonight I would make it in my two-legged form. All around me, the verdant greenery burgeoned out, a perpetual explosion of twisting vines and brilliant trees overshadowing me. The pungent scent of soil rose to meet my nostrils, and I shivered. While most jungles were hot, this one had a constant chill to it, like the edge of a cool autumn morning when the mist rolled down the mountain to cover the valley below.
Along the path, stones and twigs crunched under my feet as I hurried along, listening to the scuffling sounds in the undergrowth. Birds and animals abounded here, although I seldom saw them when I was Panther. Then, they hid from me, fearing for their lives. But today, I caught a glimpse of a fox beneath a low-hanging bush, and a brilliant bluebird flying overhead, and to my left, a skunk padded along through the undergrowth, followed by her babies, unconcerned with m
y presence.
The sky was covered by a layer of clouds, although here and there a shaft of sun pierced the blanket. I could sense the edge of rain hovering on the outskirts.
My nostrils twitched as the scent of a distant bonfire wafted past. It was late afternoon heading toward twilight as I wound along the path, through a small clearing. At the bottom of the ravine, far below me to my left, a stream cascaded along. The water raced over rocks, foaming white caps that roared, threatening to sweep away anything daring to cross its path. At the edge of the ravine, a log spanned across the water, held fast on either side by chains embedded deep in the ground. The first time I had come this way I had been afraid, terrified I might fall off, but over the months and years I had learned that I could easily dart across the trunk as long as I didn’t look down. I set one foot on the trunk, and then the other. Summoning up my courage I scampered across, lightly jumping off the other side.
Still more forest awaited me, but here, the land was beginning to change. The jungle gave way to woodland, a brilliant array of maple and oak. These trees were always on the precipice of autumn, always prepared to drop their leaves at the first great windstorm of the season. But they never did. For this was the land of the Autumn Lord, this was the realm of the Harvestmen, and here this season ruled as king, holding sway over the land. No matter how hard the wind blew, the leaves never dropped, and new buds never appeared on the branches.
I shaded my eyes as a shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds, washing everything with a golden tinge. The beauty struck me dumb and I paused, just watching as the energy of the Autumn Lord’s kingdom reverberated through my blood, through the beating of my heart, through the rhythm of my pulse.
In some ways I belonged here more than I belonged anywhere else. I was one of his chosen. I was a Death Maiden, and autumn was my season. Autumn burned in the core of my heart. I slowly let out my breath, reveling in the alertness of the land. It was awake and aware, a constant vision of the harvest, not yet claimed by the fallow slumber of winter, but long past the lazy days of summer. Autumn was the time of action, it was the time of busyness, a time of preparation.
As I stared into the distance, I saw the dark silhouette of rising towers against the glow of the sun. Then the clouds rushed in again, extinguishing the light, but I knew that I was close. I straightened and exited the valley, onto the path leading to the temple of Haseofon, where I prayed I would find my answers.
Chapter 5
HASEOFON.
Like some temple rising out of the ashes of Greek mythology, Haseofon was a vision in pillars and pavilions. Gray veins filtered through the polished white marble that composed the walls of Haseofon, and a wide flight of stairs led up to the main pavilion. The entrance, with its massive double doors, loomed well over ten feet tall. Along the sides of the building, light flickered through the stained glass panels of the keyhole windows.
As I jogged up the steps, I paused and focused on my apparel. I had learned how to change my clothing with just a moment’s thought, at least while I was in the realm of Haseofon. Within seconds I was wearing a long flowing dress in pale sage green. It was a warm jersey, yet light and airy. As soon as I was properly clothed, I opened one of the great doors and entered the hall.
The ceiling, a great dome, arched over the entire expanse of the temple. Long draperies lined the walls in brilliant colors. Fuchsia and yellow, red, pink, ivory, all of the tapestries were embroidered with visions of trees and vines, of pastoral scenes, of the moon and stars.
At the back of the hall sat a raised dais. Pillows that reminded me of beanbag chairs lined the floor, and platters of roast beef and fragrant rice flavored with saffron, and great bowls of fruit covered the tables scattered around the room. To one side of the hall was a training section, complete with weapon racks covered with a variety of implements. Doors against the back of the room led to hallways where the Death Maidens slept.
I glanced around the room, looking to see who was here at the moment. The hall seemed relatively empty. In one corner I saw Mizuki, one of the other Death Maidens, playing her violin. I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to the wistful music as it transported me a million miles away.
“Delilah! I didn’t expect to see you anytime soon.” The voice was familiar, and as I swung around, a young woman who looked very much like me except for her long brown hair came running over.
“Arial, I wasn’t sure if you’d be here or not.” I accepted a hug from my twin sister, who had been here in Haseofon since she died at birth. It was a long story and convoluted, but the only time we had ever been able to see her otherwise was when she came in her spirit form—a leopard—to help us during battle.
“What are you doing here? Is everything okay?” Arial loved living in Haseofon, and she had never known anything else. She had lived here all of her existence. While she wasn’t a Death Maiden, like I was, she served the Autumn Lord in different ways.
“I need to see Greta. I have to talk to her right away. It’s important,” I said, taking her hands. “It’s about Shade. He’s in danger.”
She frowned, but gave me a quick nod and turned around. “Greta’s out back, in the moonlight garden. Come, I’ll take you to her.”
Arial moved as though she were floating through the air. She was one of the most graceful creatures I had ever met. I wished Camille and Menolly could meet her, to talk to her like I could, but they weren’t allowed into Haseofon. And Arial had never been able to leave the grounds of the temple without turning into her leopard self.
We headed through the maze leading toward the back of the temple, until we came to another set of double doors. They weren’t as large as the front ones, but they were just as impressive. Arial pushed one of them open, holding it for me. I had done my share of walking around the temple grounds, but I seldom had time to explore the outer boundaries. I had never been to the moonlight garden.
We followed a small footpath winding through a looming forest of fir and oak and maple. The undergrowth was thick, although not as thick as our forests over Earthside, but there was the scent of faint decay, of trees winding down for the year. It was like that here all the time.
The path was lit with golden lanterns, sitting on rocks to each side, every few feet. The trail descended into the forest, weaving through and around the trees, and the chill evening air set me to shivering. I close my eyes, imagining a shawl around my shoulders, and it appeared, warming me just enough to take the edge off. Even though I wasn’t here in body, my spirit felt the changes just as strongly as my skin would.
“How goes the war?” Arial said.
“I pray we’re close to the end. We had a victory recently, a big one. I’m hoping it was enough to turn the tide.” I paused, then said, “I truly wish you could come with me, in body as you are now.”
“You know that’s not possible. I can only remain in my human form while I am on the grounds of Haseofon. Himself did not have to grant me even that much, so I am grateful for what he’s chosen to give me.”
Sometimes I wondered if Arial blamed me. The deal my father had made had been that one of us should die, so that our mother and the other twin could survive childbirth. While logically I knew that if my father had not made the deal, all three of us would be dead instead of just my sister, I still had a streak of survivor’s guilt.
“I know. I just wish… Well, you understand.”
We were deep into the forest by now, and the trees loomed like giant sentinels, guarding our way. I felt conspicuous, and I realized that they were probably truly guardians, watching all who walked through the grounds of the temple. I wondered how far this realm actually extended. The Harvestmen all lived within in the Autumn Lands, not just the Autumn Lord. So it must be a vast plane.
“Where’s the moonlight garden? We’ve gone quite a ways from the temple.”
Arial laughed. “Don’t be impatient. It just takes time to get there. It’s a grove, not a kitchen garden.” r />
But moments later, we entered a clearing. There I saw a circular garden, bounded by massive rosebushes and giant mums.
Rowan trees guarded the circle, which must have been a good acre in diameter. Curved stone benches lined the borders within the boundary of flowers and trees, and in the center stood a fountain that bubbled up with brilliant orange and yellow and red waters. They flowed in a continuous motion within the circular fountain, yet did not blend. In the center of the fountain stood a tall tree, carved in crystal, and through the trunk the water spiraled up, then sprayed out of the boughs and limbs. It was mesmerizing, and the sound, soothing.
The lip of the fountain was wide enough to sit on, and there, staring off into the forest, was Greta. She turned as we approached, a smile on her face. The fountain was lit up enough to illuminate all of us. I curtsied out of respect, and sat next to her. Arial wandered over to one of the rosebushes, cupping a blossom in her hand and bringing it up close to her nose so she could smell it.
“Well met, Delilah.” Greta didn’t seem surprised to see me.
“Do you know what’s happened?” It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she knew. Greta seemed to know a great deal of things that went on in my life.
“Some, yes. I know some of it. Himself will be here in a moment. He told me that you were on the way, and that he would come to the garden when you arrived.” She paused, looking wary. “Delilah, may I give you a piece of advice?”
I nodded. “Of course, I always value your advice. You’re one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.”
“Thank you,” she said, nodding. “I wanted to tell you… Don’t beg. When he gives you your options, accept them and follow directions. You will one day be the mother of his daughter. You must grow into the position. That means standing up for yourself, yet never throwing yourself on anyone’s mercy, his included. He will appreciate it. And he will take it into account in the future. There is so much more at stake, even I can only see outskirts of what lies ahead, but what I can see transcends everything you think will be.” She paused, looking like she was debating on whether to say something more. After a moment, she simply shook her head. “There is more, but it is not my place to say.”