“I will have you, my love.” Katila set his stare at me as he traced away.
A flurry of magic and the tip of Azrael's scythe landed in the spot where Katila had been. Light exploded in a multitude of colors, and the house rocked with it. Magic didn't like to be wasted. I sighed heavily and turned away. There was no sense in trying to track Katila; I could already feel the lack of a trail.
“Great, Vervain!” Odin huffed. “Now, he's crazy enough to think that he loves you.”
I stared at Odin blandly.
“That came out wrong,” Odin murmured.
“This can't be happening!” Azrael viciously threw his scythe at the picture window.
It vanished before it hit, but it was still a rare display of violence from an otherwise calm man.
“How the fuck is he that fast?” Az continued to shout.
“He has the power of three demons now,” Teharon said gently. “And that's in addition to his own godhood.”
“But how is this even possible?” Azrael asked even though he knew none of us knew the answer. “A god has never been able to take another god's power. Only Vervain can do it.”
“Maybe it's something to do with his magic,” Odin suggested. “The way he can disappear. Perhaps his magic can disappear too—make it seem as if he's empty—and then fresh magic can surge in.”
“Magic evolves; sometimes spontaneously,” Thor said. “We could be witnessing the next evolution of our kind.”
We all went silent in horror. If the Gods received the ability to not only kill each other with ease but to also be able to take each other's magic, the God War would shift. Gods would start hunting each other for no other reason than gaining power. Then there would be the retaliations. It would be a bloodbath.
“Let's not worry ourselves over theories,” Blue said sensibly. “It doesn't matter how or why Katila is taking demon magic. It changes nothing. All we need to know is what advantages it gives him. And then we work around those advantages and kill him.”
It was similar to what we'd concluded when we planned this trap, but it needed to be said again.
Azrael took a calming breath and nodded. “Thank you, Blue; I needed that focus.”
“We all did,” Odin said. “We've allowed him to unsettle us. Let's get back to the palace and come up with a new plan that takes Katila's speed into account.”
“Before we go; Odin, do you know where we are?” I asked casually.
Odin looked around the house and frowned. “No.”
“Are you certain?” I asked. “Take another look.”
“Vervain, what's this about?” Thor asked impatiently.
“Katila brought me here to show me Odin's house; a house that I didn't know he owned,” I answered Thor and then looked back at Odin. “I believe it's the same house that you lived in with your human family.”
“My what?” Odin asked in shock. “What nonsense are you talking?”
“In the wrong future,” Trevor said. “Remember? Vervain told us that you left her and got married to a human. You had a little... girl...” Trevor trailed off.
We all knew what Trevor was thinking. Odin had been pestering me to have his child. He hadn't been able to get that baby out of his head. Odin badly wanted our child to be born, and when Odin wanted something badly, his tactics could go bad too. I'd made it clear that I was going to have Trevor's son next, and now, I was actually pregnant with Vero.
“Dude, you aren't... ?” Trevor left the question hanging.
“What?” Odin huffed. “You think that I bought this potential love nest so I could shop around for a human wife as a backup in case Vervain didn't have my child fast enough to satisfy me?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds as crazy as Katila,” Trevor huffed.
I laughed. “That has a nice ring to it; crazy as Katila.”
“I didn't know about this house, Vervain,” Odin said with deadly seriousness. “It must have belonged to Griffin, and so it would be mine technically, but I've never looked into his assets. It never even occurred to me. It feels too much like plunder.”
“I believe you,” I said softly. “I was just thrown, and I needed an explanation.”
“Which is exactly what that bastard is trying to do; throw you off—throw all of us off,” Azrael said furiously. “He wants to tear us apart with lies and innuendos because he's too weak to do it with his own two hands.”
“He won't,” I said confidently. “But if anyone has any secrets they want to share, now would be a good time to come clean.”
My men looked at each other while the rest of the God Squad stared at them anxiously—some of them (Pan) stared eagerly—and, finally, they shook their heads.
“Most of us live vith you,” Kirill pointed out. “Secrets are hard to keep under same roof.”
“Except for your little stargazing jaunts,” Trevor reminded me. “Are you sure there isn't anything more you'd like to tell us, Minn Elska? We may live under the same roof, but it's a big one.”
I laughed. “I guess I deserved that. No; I don't have any more secrets.”
“Let's go home,” Odin suggested again as he looked around the empty house. “This place gives me the creeps.”
“You and me both, honey,” I said. “It's a life that never happened; perched on the edge of becoming real.”
“I'll look into selling it,” Odin promised me. “Someone will love this place; make it a home.”
“I'd clean that scorch mark first, if I were you,” Pan pointed to the charred
