“So, Narcissus got out, freaked out, and then locked himself in his territory like a crazy convict?” Artemis asked skeptically. “I don't buy it. If that's the case, where's Nemesis?”
“Good question.” I grimaced.
“I don't him, but there's no way that a god would seal himself in his territory without a way out,” Re said. “There has to be a portal. You must have missed it, Torrent. No offense.”
“None taken, but I assure you; I missed nothing,” Torrent said. “I examined every piece of that place. The boundary was seamless; as slick as glass.”
“As slick as glass,” I murmured.
“Vervain, will you please stop muttering cryptically beneath your breath?” Odin asked.
“Sorry.” I shrugged. “It keeps reminding me of the Mirror.”
“You think that Narcissus made the border of his territory a mirror?” Re asked. “I wouldn't even know how to do that; I doubt that a minor deity who's been entrapped for over a thousand years would.”
“Unless the Mirror taught Narcissus a few tricks,” I suggested.
“A curse teaching a god?” Odin lifted his brows.
“It was sentient enough to have a conversation with me,” I pointed out. “Narcissus thought they were friends. The Mirror warned me about him, remember?”
“But to teach requires advanced knowledge,” Odin pointed out, “and the Mirror would only know what Nemesis had put into it.”
“And what the humans it consumed knew,” I added.
“It took their knowledge?” Odin asked in horror.
“It taunted me with that fact.” I nodded. “I think it even gleaned a few tidbits from me while I was there. It put me in an illusion of a nightmare I used to have when I was a little girl.”
“What kind of nightmare?” Re asked.
“One where I was being burned at the stake as a witch,” I whispered.
“What?” Odin growled.
“Except in the Mirror's illusion, Lesya was strapped to the stake,” I added.
“That was one evil fucking mirror!” Morpheus declared.
“No kidding,” I muttered.
“And if it learned that from you, there's no telling what else it found in your mind,” Odin said in concern. “Or in Trevor's, or Kirill's, or any of the humans who died inside it.”
“Exactly,” I said. “And what if it passed that knowledge to Narcissus?”
“We need to get into that territory,” Re said urgently.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Torrent, Artemis, and Morpheus returned to Pride Palace with Re, Odin, and I to give it all a good think. My other husbands had come home and were waiting with Kirill in the little kitchen area of our suite. Lesya was asleep in her room so we were able to talk freely. We updated them on the situation and settled into a good discussion. We were about an hour in when Aleksanteri arrived.
Aleksanteri is Athena's talking owl. He's basically an elevated carrier pigeon, delivering messages for his mistress. He's a massive bird with a huge wingspan—probably as wide as I am tall—and pristine white feathers. He also has a bit of an attitude. I'd chalk it up to stress from a heavy workload now that Athena ruled Olympus, but I've known the owl since before she took the job, and he's always been a bit snooty.
Today his superior attitude was covered by panic.
“Godhunter, gather your gods!” Alex said as he soared into the room. “Loose the Lions! Phone the Froekn! The Olympians are under attack!”
“Phone the Froekn?” Trevor asked Odin under his breath. “What is this; E.T.? Are we a bunch of aliens?”
Odin just chuckled.
“What are you talking about, Alex?” I asked as he circled our heads.
“Two Olympians have gone missing!” Alex shouted.
“Alex, I swear to the Gods, if you wake my daughter again, I will kill you, stuff you, mount you over a fireplace, and put a brass plaque beneath you with the name Hedwig inscribed on it,” I growled.
The owl settled on the floor beside my chair and lowered his voice, “Who is Hedwig?”
“The greatest owl who never lived,” Azrael said in a reverent tone.
Alex just stared at him before he spun his head around to me. “Hephaestus and Hera are missing.”
“What about Hermes? No one went after the final H?” I asked.
“We have Hestia and Hades too,” Artemis corrected me.
“That's a lot of H's,” I noted.
“I never noticed before,” she said and harrumphed. “A lot of As too; Apollo, me, Athena, Aphrodite—oh, wait, she's dead—but there's also Ares—nope; he's dead too.” She grimaced. “Well, there would have been a lot of A's if not for you, Vervain.”
“Oops,” I said dryly.
Aleksanteri blinked his round, owl eyes at me. “What are you talking about? Never-living owls, H's and A's? This is serious! Athena needs you to attend her.”
“Maybe we should warn Hades,” I said to the men. “Since he's another H.”
“I seriously doubt someone is targeting Olympians whose names start with H!” Alex shouted.
I glared him into silence.
“It's far more likely that they're targeting the least powerful and working their way up,” Odin suggested. “All right; let's put this on hold and see what Athena has to say.”
We all stood up, and Alex sighed in relief; the sound whistling out of his beak.
“Thank you.” Aleksanteri wobbled into the hallway and then glided down the spiraling stairwell to the tracing room on the bottom floor of the palace.
“I'll ask Aidan to come up and watch TV in here until Lesya wakes up,” Trevor offered.
“Aidan is out vith girlfriend,” Kirill said.
“Girlfriend?” I asked in surprise.
“He's dating a demoness.” Kirill grinned.
“How perfect,” Odin murmured. “It may just take a demon to put up with his hellish humor.”
I shot Odin a look, and he shrugged, completely unrepentant.
“Lucian is home,” Kirill said. “I'll ask him.”
Morpheus, Torrent, and Artemis decided to join us as well. Since Artemis was an Olympian too, I didn't think Athena would mind. I contemplated calling Hades, but I had a feeling that Athena had done that already. So, we saw to my daughter care and then traced to Olympus.
My first day back from V-Day vacations and it was turning out to be a long one.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Athena lives in
