Chapter Thirty-Eight

“Vervain!” Kirill shouted.

They were gathered around the tracing room, Aradia with them. Damn, Al had moved fast.

“Not now!” I shouted and smacked my hands on the tracing wall. “Open ways are now shut against those who are unwelcome.”

As soon as I started the rewarding chant, everyone went silent.

“I, Mistress of this home, declare it so and bind the point before me, that none but those I choose shall pass. Clear the way only for those who speak these words: Banana Pancakes.”

The new ward shimmered into place over the old, the new chant becoming the key to our territory. We were safe. Katila couldnt follow me. I didnt know how hed gotten past my ward before, but I hoped rewarding would stop him from doing it again.

Just in case it didnt, I fell into a fighting stance, claws springing from my fingertips. Inside my chest, the nine-pointed star pulsed reassuringly. It was with me. Thank goodness.

And it wasnt the only one.

My husbands slipped into the tracing room and spread out to either side of me and behind me. They prepared to fight. A minute passed. Another. There was no sign of Katila, but that didnt mean he wasnt there.

“Al?” I called.

“I dont sense him, Vervain,” Al said through Aradia.

“I dont smell his non-scent either.”

“Who?” Re demanded. “Who is the trickster, Vervain? Who took you?”

I straightened from my stance and looked at my men. Aradia stood just outside the room with my Intare. It looked like they were all there, crowding the entryway and perched on the stairs.

“Our enemy has come back from the dead,” I said. “Its Katila.”

The lions growled, including their god, Kirill. Trevor bared his teeth. The other men let out wicked curses that would have blistered the ears of my children.

Then I said, “And he has Anubiss dagger.”

More cursing.

Cracking my neck, I strode out of the tracing room. “It didnt work on me for very long. My star couldnt be suppressed by Death.”

My husbands trailed after me, but we stopped in the space before the tracing room.

“That, at least, is some good news,” Odin said as he closed the tracing room door.

“Im not finished.” I turned to look at my husbands. “Katilas back to eating souls, and Al says hes consumed an entire territory full of them.”

“Katila has taken only god souls so far, but the territory hes stolen is an underworld and is full of human souls,” Aradia/Alaric said. “Those souls are bound to him now, and Im afraid he may start consuming them as well.”

“What territory did he take, Al?” I asked.

“Naraka.”

“Naraka?” I asked. “Whos territory is that?”

“It was Katilas fathers,” Odin said. “It must have been open to being taken by him.”

“Hold on. We killed Yama and all his minions,” I said. “So who was left in the territory for Katila to consume?”

“You didnt kill all the Yamadutas,” Al said. “Not all of them could leave Naraka. They had souls to torture and a territory to guard.”

“Lovely,” Viper drawled.

“So, Katila killed his own people?” I asked. “Thats a switch.”

“He was probably desperate,” Trevor said.

“But how did he get out of the Void?” Odin asked.

“You got out,” Kirill said. “Viper got out.”

“Because Vervain pulled us out,” Odin said. “The spell she used to bring me back is not widely known. It was from my soul magic spellbook—a book of Fey spells. But if that is what happened, and Katila was brought back with a spell, it would mean someone helped him. Someone would have to cast the spell. Who would do that? All of his relatives are dead.”

“Alaric just said there were some Yamadutas left,” Re said.

“But they were loyal to Katilas father, not him,” Trevor argued.

“They may have been desperate for someone to take control of the territory, and they may not have had enough magic to do it themselves.”

“I asked Katila how he got out,” I said, silencing everyone.

“And?” Odin demanded.

“He told me that he danced out of the Void.”

“He danced out?”

“Yup. Called it a Void dance. Avoidance. Then he laughed and said it was appropriate.”

“Why is avoidance appropriate?” Odin murmured.

“I dont know. Hes even crazier than he was the last time.” I thought about it. “But you could call retrieving a soul from the Void a dance. Its delicate spellwork.”

“Indeed,” Odin said.

“Are you all right, Carus?” Azrael asked. “We havent asked about you yet. Did he . . . ?”

“He didnt try to hurt me until I got my magic back and tried to kill him. Then it was on,” I said. “But Im fine. He was trying to have a date with me. He wanted us to get to know each other.”

“A date?” Aidan, one of my lions, scoffed. “The guy really is nuts.”

“Yeah. Actually, that reminds me. He asked what my favorite food is. I told him it was donuts—the best kind of nut.”

“Well, I dont know about that,” someone said. “Ive got some nuts the ladies seem to love.”

The lions chuckled.

“Ha-ha.” I rolled my eyes.

“Alaric, do you have anything to add?” Odin asked.

“About nuts?” Al/Aradia asked in genuine confusion.

Odins face twitched.

“Alaric already told me that he doesnt know how Katilas soul got out of the Void,” I answered for Al. “He was there and then gone.”

“Is that how it was with my soul?” Odin asked.

“No. I knew Vervain came for you. I was aware of her presence and your conversation. But I have always been aware of Vervain. I dont watch all the souls in the Void as closely as I watched over yours, Odin.”

Odins expression squished up. “Thank you?”

“Youre welcome.”

“So, he cant get through now?” Viper asked. “Now that youve changed the ward chant to banana pancakes.” He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing.

“It just popped into my head.” I grimaced. Then I looked around. “Where are the children?”

“Outside playing,” Kirill said. “Sam and Fallon are vith zem.”

“Good.” I looked back at the tracing room. “And to answer your question, Viper, I dont know how secure we are. Cuz I dont know how he got in the first time.”

“Well, youve got a lot of people traipsin in and out of this terrtory,” Austin drawled.

“What are you saying, copper?” Lucius, another lion, asked.

“Just that its hard to keep a secret between two people. But a hundred?” He looked around. “Im not besmirchin anyones honor here. Just saying, thats how it goes. Three can keep a secret if two of em are dead.”

“You think one of my friends or family gave up the tracing chant?” I asked.

“Maybe not knowingly.” Austin shrugged again.

“He also got into Heaven and Hell,” Azrael said.

“Both terrtories with a lot of residents,” Austin said.

“So now you think someone from Heaven, Hell, the Greek Underworld, and here gave up the chants?” Viper asked.

“It would be the easiest way to get through.” Austin, whod been slouched against the wall, straightened and sauntered over. “I dont know wards as well as you folks, but I know doors. To get through, you have to have a key or a sledgehammer. No one sledgehammered your ward, did they, Vervain?”

“No,” I said. “But weve left out one other option.”

“Whats that?”

“Katila may have overheard the chants.”

“Fruity Pebbles!” Trevor snarled.

“I dont get it,” Austin said.

“Katila is like a ghost,” I said. “You wont see him or even sense his magic. Its more than invisibility. Hes simply not there. So, he could have been anywhere without us knowing. He could have found a god from each territory and followed them until they traced home. Then hed just have to listen for the chant.”

“What about the Faerie Realm?” Aidan asked. “How did he get in there?”

“With Viper,” I said. “The ward recognized Viper and allowed the person with him to tag along.”

“The easiest explanation is usually the right one.” Odin nodded.

“Which reminds me. When I attacked him with fire, he went transparent,” I said.

“Doubtless a talent he got from consuming a Yamaduta,” Odin said.

“Or their magic enhanced his own, and he has become unnoticeable to the point of also being untouchable,” Alaric said.

“Or he really is a ghost,” Austin said.

“Those dont exist,” I said. Then I paused. “Do they, Al?”

“Well, technically a soul without a body is a ghost,” Alaric said. “But what youre asking is whether a soul can survive in one of the realms of the living without a body. The answer to that is no.”

“So, hes not a ghost, just stronger,” Trevor said.

“Hes got the strength of over fifty gods now,” Alaric said.

Re shook his head. “That would make him nearly invincible.”

Azraels expression twitched. “He cant be invincible.”

“Either way, hes more powerful than before,” I said.

“Thats terrible,” Aradia said in her voice. “And Id really like to stay and help out, but I kinda want to get home and check on my wards now.”

“Oh! Of course, Aradia. Thank you so much for bringing Alaric to help me,” I said.

“No problem.” Aradia shuddered. “Ah, Alarics gone now. Goodbye, everyone.” She waved at the Intare, nodded at my husbands, and headed for the tracing room.

“Oh, Aradia?”

“Yes?” She stopped to look back.

“No offense, but please, dont come back here until this is over. I dont want to risk you being overheard speaking the entry chant.”

“Yeah, I understand. Just text me with an alls clear.”

After she was gone, Odin said, “You could just change the chant again.”

“But what if Alaric needs his avatar?”

Odins expression went grim. “Youre right. Well wait.”

“Banana pancakes it is,” Viper declared.