"Nobodystepped up?" She set a glass in front of each us and sat across from us.
Yukiwas watching us like we were a tennis match.
"No."
Sheshrugged. "Someone will. The goddess will see to it."
"You'regood with this? That was yourcoven, too."
Shesmiled and gave another noncommittal shrug. "And everyone I cared abouthas either moved on or moved here. Like it or not, Granddaughter, this is ourhome now. That includes your mother."
"She'sreally staying?"
"Calledhere by the goddess herself. She didn't have a choice."
"Anddid the goddess make you open your home for the woman you despise most in thisworld?"
Hersmile turned into a frown. "Tone, Child. Your mother and I might not getalong, but she is still my daughter."
"Andshe's still my mother. I love her, but I'd rather hug a moving Peterbuilt onthe highway than let her move in with me."
Nanacackled. "It was easier to have her here with me."
Inarrowed my eyes at her. "To do what?"
Shesighed and stood, beckoning for us to follow her. Yuki shot me a nervous glanceand followed Nana into the living room. I downed my wine and set my empty glasson the table before joining them.
Nanawas standing in front of the far wall and waiting for me, watching me enter theroom before facing the wall. "Oscailte," she canted softly, and the wall shimmered and melted,splitting apart and revealing a workroom within.
Nanaand Mother were more into potions than I was. The huge cauldron in the centerof the room was proof enough of that. I didn't own a single one. Not even aquart sized one. "Double, double, toil and trouble," I said with agiggle and stepped inside. And whistled…
Theworkbench was natural wood that looked like it had grown from the earth itself,twisting and winding up to form a flat surface along the wall. The floor of theworkshop was hard packed earth. Faerie lights illuminated everything fromoverhead as the ceiling spiraled up into nothingness. One thing was forcertain… We weren't in Kansas anymore. "How come I don't have one ofthese?"
"Ibelieve you skipped out on your magic lesson to snog your boyfriend fromIreland on the day we covered enchanted workspaces."
"Hewasn't from Ireland; he was from Virginia. He moved to Ireland."
"Heshould have stayed a virgin. You would have learned a lot more." Shechuckled at her own joke. I blushed six shades of crimson.
"So,what have you been working on?"
"That."She pointed a finger at the furthest wall. Nailed to the wall were sheets ofparchment all overlapped until it looked a solid sheet, diagrammed withTartarus and the adjacent planes. Seeing it on paper gave me a bit moreunderstanding of what Dar had been trying to explain.
"Oh.I already know all that. Cania was inhabited by Mephistopheles who got offed bythe angels so they're the only ones who can enter Tartarus, essentially makingit an escape proof prison."
"Verygood. If you're thinking in positive and negative planes of existence. Thatdoesn't take into account the lateral planes."
"Lateralplanes?"
"Didyou pay attention to nothing I said in your studies?"
"Mustabeen sick that day."
"Snogging.You were such a horn dog once you found out the miraculous uses of the penis."
Yukisnickered behind us.
"Youwere saying?"
"Aboutthe penises or the planes?" Nana cocked an eyebrow.
"Planes."
"Well,travel to the planes is like taking a subway from one to another." Shemoved to the beautifully drawn circular diagram and touched the disk representingthe mortal realm. It flared for an instant, gold light looking like embers asthe brown ink blossomed to life and the disk pulled away from the others andstarted spinning.
"That'sfucking cool," Yuki said in awe.
"So,what are lateral planes?"
"Justas there is the mortal realm, there are others on the same plane."
"Themultiverse?" I had seen the Marvel movies.
Nanashook her head in disappointment. "That, I'm sorry to say, is bullshit.But there are three for each. Think of all of these as the primaryplanes of existence. They are neutral." She waved her hand and the disksplit into three, all overlapping each other. "Then there are the positiveprimary planes and the negative primary planes. They make up the lateral."
"That'sthe two kinds? So, Mephistopheles might be alive in one of them?"
Sheshook her head. "No. If you die in one, you die in all. They're that interconnected."
"So,how does that help us then?"
"Itdoesn't. I said there were two different kinds. I was explaining the first inhopes that you might actually retain some knowledge for a change."
"Yes.Two. Positive and negative."
"No,those are one kind. Laterals of the first."
"What'sthe second?"
"Whatdo you think connects everything?" She motioned at the whole board.
"Subways?"
Herface fell in utter annoyance.
"Love?"
Shesmacked me in the back of the head.
"Justtell me!"
Shemotioned toward the board with both arms outstretched. A globe encircled allof the planes, glittering like stars.
"Space?"
"Ina way, you are correct, Child."
Imade a pumping motion with my arm. "Score."
"Butif you think it's the space that a rocket can get you to, you are sorelymistaken."
"Drugs?"
"Nope."
"Sheis referring to Ethereum." My mother answered solemnly from the doorwaybehind us.
"Sogood of you to join us, Moth–"
Herhair was disheveled, her silk robe askew, and her usually pristine lipsticksmeared across half her face. Seven guys were milling in the living room by thefront door in various stages of undress, all of them putting on their shoeswith dazed looks on their faces.
"Seven?"I hadn't meant to say the word aloud, but I hiss-whispered in disbelief. I wassurprised she could walk from the bedroom to the workroom. But then again, theseven guys might have carried her. "They all on the same team?"
"Yes,actually. Thank the lady for softball!"
"Aren'tthere nine people on a team?" I vaguely recalled nine being the number,but I wasn't sure.
"Twoof them were married and didn't feel like playing…" Mother wiggled hereyebrows.
Nanacackled and Yuki reverted to gagging noises. I was just in shock. Shaking myhead, I turned back to Nana. "So, what's Ethereum? Like the digitalcurrency?"
"No,Granddaughter. Ethereum is the space, energy, force, whatever, that connectsall the planes. Theoretically, you could travel from the mortal realm to any ofthe other planes by cutting across Ethereum."
Somethingwasn't adding up. "If that is true, and travel to the planes is limited tothe adjacent planes, how do the angels get to our realm, how did Dar get to ourrealm, and how did a portal to hell open up in the middle of town?"
"Magic."
"Ex-squeezeme?"
"Shemeans
