“Then why did it attack your star?” Odin argued.
“Her star is her destiny.” Trevor met Odin's stare somberly. “Without it, she can't fulfill her fate.”
We all went silent as that settled in. Did that mean I had lost my fate again?
“Can he keep hurting you now that the Tablet has touched you?” Re's voice held a note of panic.
“I don't think so.” I bit my lip as I tried to remember my previous interaction with the Tablet. “When we fought before, Marduk had to be close to me to direct the energy of the Tablet at me. I remember him touching the Tablet and chanting as he focused on me. Today, I was touching the Tablet, and it blasted both of us apart.”
“So, proximity affects its power,” Odin mused. “Okay; that's a relief.”
“A minor one,” Teharon said. “While I was trying to heal her, I searched for the invading magic. I felt only the barest hint of it, but it was enough to sense its power. Ancient, enormous power. That Tablet wasn't created by one god but by a group of them. We should avoid becoming its target at all costs.”
“It's a little late for that,” I grumbled as the men exchanged worried looks.
“We need to talk to the Fates,” Trevor announced.
The other men nodded. All except for Viper.
“Who are the Fates?” Viper asked as if he were getting tired of having to ask so many questions.
“You'll see soon enough.” Odin leveled his stare on me.
In the night, the beauty of Odin's eyes was hidden, their color as dark as the pall that hung over us.
Chapter Twelve
My men wanted me to go to Faerie before we went to see the Fates—if anyone could help me fix my star, it was Faerie—but I waited till morning. I was simply too tired to go anywhere after suffering through the destruction of my star. Normally, I'd use my Ring of Remembrance to travel to Faerie before anyone woke. With the way I used it—to take me backward or forward to the last time I left a realm—I could return before anyone even knew I was gone. But I didn't want to do that this time. We were all so unsettled by the Tablet. So, I slipped out of Odin's arms and went to make breakfast while I waited for the rest of my family to wake up.
I was flipping a pancake when Alaric, the Consciousness of the Void, spoke in my mind.
Faerie can't fix you.
I flinched, splattering the edges of the pancake when I dropped it too quickly. “Damn it,” I growled. “Hey, Al, how you doing? It would have been nice if you had shown up last night. You know; when my star was shattering.”
I was a little busy trying to find a way to stop it.
“Oh.” Well, that told me. “I assume you didn't succeed.”
That tablet is made with stone from Atlantis, he grumbled. It's old magic; very difficult to circumvent.
“Atlantis?” I asked in surprise. “Teharon said it was created by several gods.”
I don't know if it was enchanted by several gods or one extremely powerful goddess.
“You think Tiamat made it by herself?”
She was the head of an immense pantheon at a time when magic was stronger within humans and Gods were not diminished by waning worship. Yes, I think she could have created it alone; a vessel to hold a portion of her power safe. Possessing it is supposed to impart rulership.Dominance.
“Yeah; I know. The owner of the Tablet is supposed to rule the Universe.”
Yes, well, we know the Tablet isn't quite that powerful. That being said, it grants its possessor a certain amount of immunity and protection. You encountered its protective measures yesterday.
“That's a hell of a ward,” I muttered.
A ward isn't sentient.
“You're saying this stone tablet has a mind?”
Not as you're implying, but it does have a form of intelligence. Like an ancient computer, I suppose. It can react to certain stimuli. I've been studying it, trying to figure out how to reverse what it's done to you.
“And?”
And the only way I can see to do that is for you to gain possession of the Tablet. You need to steal it, Vervain. Once you have the Tablet of Destinies under your control, you can command it to fix your fate.
“Sure. I'll just sneak into Marduk's bedroom while he's sleeping and snatch it.”
He's sleeping now. Although, you'd have to take Torrent with you; Marduk has laid some wards since yesterday.
“Hold on.” I slid the pancake onto a plate and then just stopped to stare at the open air before me. “If you can spy on Marduk, why haven't you helped me with enemies in the past?”
First of all, you needed to fight those gods; it was your destiny, and I never interfere with such situations. This is not destiny; it's the opposite of destiny. Secondly, I can't just find people on a whim. I need something to focus on. Something that will act as a marker to help me continually locate them.
“Something like an ancient stone tablet?”
Now, you understand. As long as Marduk carries that tablet, I can find him. You, however, are mine. I've been with you from your very first breath, and I can find you anywhere.
“That's actually comforting.”
It should be. You have immense forces backing you, Vervain. It will be all right.
“Just as long as I steal the Tablet,” I grumbled.
Yes. It's far too dangerous to be in Marduk's hands. That man is a monster.
“So I've gathered.”
And you've woke the beast. He's obsessed with you. He won't stop until you're dead, Vervain.
“Which means that I can't merely steal the Tablet, I'll also have to kill him.”
I highly recommend it.
“All right.” I poured more batter into the pan. “Watch Marduk for me, Al. I still want to go to Faerie. I need to tell Arach what's going on.”
Don't tarry in the Faerie
