Chapter Forty-Three

“We have to go back,” Katila said, his voice panicked.

I blinked, refocusing with my nose. Dazed, but not entirely confused. Katila was carrying me. He put me down. I was seated. Before me were two scents, one of them Katilas non-scent. The other scent was familiar. This was a revelation, wasnt it? What did another scent mean? It meant another god! Katila was speaking to another god. But what did that mean? I couldnt work things out in my daze. It was a miracle I could process as much as I did. I tried to hear what was being said, if not listen. Maybe later I could replay it in my head and process everything.

“You have what you wanted,” a male voice said. “Why go back?”

“Why?” Katila shrieked. “He took the Pasha! That fucking lion took my Pasha! How did he do it?”

“He is Death. Death and Winter and Lions. A glorious specimen of a god. Yes, oh, yes. Ive seen that one. What else was it about him?”

“Hey! Focus! Dont wander off to your secrets.”

“Huh? Why are so you scared?”

“Why am I scared? You brought me back with the Pasha. Dont I need it to stay alive?”

“Dont be ridiculous. Youre here. Nothing is going to yank you back to the Void. Not unless you let someone kill you again. The Pasha isnt what brought you back, it was the residue of your skin cells within the cord. And I gave it to you because it was your birthright.” A pause, then a muttered, “I didnt consider what youd do with it.”

“Oh,” Katila said, much calmer. “Still. I want it back. As you said, its my birthright.”

“Dont you think youve stolen enough magic and killed enough gods, Katila the Hun?”

“Dont call me that. I dont even get what the joke is.”

“Its because your name sounds like Attila. Katila. Attila. They sound alike. And youre a mass murderer just like that human. I think its funny. I think shes funny.” The second scent drew closer to me and a mans face appeared in my view.

Handsome. Trim. Very dark complexion. Full lips that turned upward. “Would you rather be confused or powerless, Vervain?” The head cocked. “Knowing you, which I do, I think youd prefer powerless. At least then youll understand whats happening, right? Right.” He kissed my cheek. “Oh, I adore you, you funny, brave girl. What a life youve lived. And its only just begun.”

Something cold and heavy clamped around my left wrist, then the right. With that weight, my senses vanished. Not entirely, just the heightened senses of my dragon. Gone with the rest of my magic. But then, seconds later, the haze lifted. I blinked back into focus and looked down at my manacled wrists, bound to each other by a chain, then up at the man standing before me.

I blinked again. The conversation that had just occurred replayed in my head. Katila was brought back by this man. It sounded as if he had used the same spell that I had used to bring gods back from the Void. He knew about needing a physical piece of the persons old body to reconnect them to this realm. We never considered that a cord would have skin cells on it. This guy was smart, very smart, and he knew faerie spells. But it sounded as if he regretted giving Katila the Pasha. He certainly didnt mind Kirill having it.

“Kirill,” I whispered.

The man straightened. “No, Im not Kirill.” He cocked his head. “I didnt scatter your brain that badly, did I?”

“I know youre not Kirill,” I huffed. “I was thinking aloud. Kirill has the Pasha.” I looked at Katila. “Did he try to use it on you?”

Katilas eyes went wide and his stare shot to the other man. “Oh, fuck! Can he use it on me?”

The other man considered this, setting his chin in his hand. The classical thinking pose. “I think he could. Death is death. The Pasha will work for him. You shouldnt have let another death deity take it.”

“I didnt let him do anything!” Katila snarled. “And where were you while I was being attacked?”

“This is your thing, not mine. And I think I did plenty for you tonight. I confused half of your opponents, if not more.” The man waved out his arms, his elegant hands fluttering like bird wings. He was trim but not too skinny. His physique reminded me of something.

Then it hit me.

“Youre the one who stabbed Viper with the pitchfork!” I pointed accusingly at the stranger who said he knew me, the chain between my manacles rattling.

“Oh, I knew youd figure it out!” He strolled over and tapped me on the shoulder. “Well done. And sorry about that. I wasnt going to hurt Viper, but you were about to catch me. I had to buy some time.”

“Who the fuck are you?”

Katila snorted.

The man laughed and jerked his thumb at Katila. “He asked the same question after I brought him back. Same question exactly.”

“Why did you . . . wait. You had no scent. I couldnt track you. I assumed you were Katila. Is it the suit?”

“No, not the suit. I borrowed Katilas Im-not-here magic.” The man grinned.

“Borrowed? You have the magic of borrowing?”

“Oh, no. Not like your son, Brevyn, no. Ive found another way to borrow magic.”

“Enough explaining to her,” Katila huffed. “She doesnt need to know all this.”

“Why not?” The man crossed his arms. “I like her. And shes played my game with such gusto. I think she deserves to know why.”

“I do,” I growled. “So, why? Why are you doing this?”

“For fun!” The man declared and tossed out his hands. “Azrael has been bringing you down with all his drama. And the humans, ugh! I try to show them the way, but they dont listen to me anymore. I have such knowledge to share. But anyway.” He shrugged. “You needed a new villain to fight. So here I am. Bwahahaha.” He rubbed his hands together.

I frowned at that. It looked so familiar. Maybe because I had made fun of villains in a similar way. “You did all this because you thought my life was boring?”

“Oh, no. Of course not. I did all this to advance the human race and because your life has gotten stale.”

“What?” I scowled at him.

“He can be hard to follow sometimes.” Katila, standing behind the other man, twirled a finger beside his temple and widened his eyes at me.

Oh, that was rich—Katila calling this guy crazy.

“Look, your man messed with the status quo, and I love that. Well done him. And well done to you before that. But its left things a bit of a mess. Youre trying to clean it up, Ill give you that. But the humans are so baffled that theyre stuck. Theyre not advancing. They dont have to advance now that youve revealed faeries to them. Theres magic in the world. Magic they believe in. It inspires some of them, but others have sort of given up. They need a jolt.”

“And attacking us will give them a jolt?”

“Its a process.” The man took the seat beside mine.

I finally realized we were in Naraka, back in that enormous living room Id been in with Katila. Great.

“A process?” I asked. “The humans arent a part of this. Youve played your games with gods alone. And how did you get into Faerie?”

“I have my ways.” He winked at me.

“Who are you?” I asked again. “Youre not Fey.”

“Oh, come now, Vervain. We both know youre going to escape and run back to your God Squad. I cant give you my name. Not yet.”

“Then explain a little more. How is abducting a dog, a child, and two men helping the human race?”

The man went serious. “Humans need to see that magic isnt everything. That even the great Faerie God can be led around the world like a puppy. That those under his protection are not as safe as they seem. I had no intention of hurting anyone. All who were taken were returned to you.”

“You hung Princess over a pitchfork!”

“But did I?” He leaned forward and grinned. “I didnt. I made it look as if I hung her over a pitchfork. The rod wouldnt have hurt her. I made sure to place it perfectly so that shed fall to the side if you didnt save her in time. But I had faith in you.” He leaned his elbows on his knees then set his chin on his fists. “The Godhunter. The Queen of Fire. The O.G. Fairy Godmother. Its so cool to sit here, face-to-face with you at last.”

“Shes going to be my wife,” Katila said. “You agreed.”

“Oh, please.” The trickster rolled his eyes. “I said Id let you try to woo her. If you recall, I also said I didnt believe youd succeed.”

Woo. Thats the word Katila had used.

“Youre supposed to be helping me! I let you unite our magic in exchange—”

“Now, whos the fool!” The trickster shot to his feet, cutting off Katila. “Cease spewing our secrets.”

Unite their magic? How could the trickster do that?

Katila grimaced. “She will not escape me again. I will make her mine.”

“She has like five billion husbands, you idiot!” The trickster waved toward me. “Your obsession, though understandable, is silly. Give it up already.”

Holy shit, what the hell is happening? Is the trickster a hero or a villain? Maybe hes a villain who thinks hes a hero. I mean, no judgment, Ive been there.

“How did you learn the spell to bring a soul from the Void?” I asked.

“Shall we dance?” The trickster pulled me to my feet. “A void dance!” He spun me around as he hummed a tune. “Shall we dance? Da-da-da. Shall we dance? Da-da-da.”

I pushed on his chest and stopped him. “Are you avoiding my question?”

He beamed at me. “Exactly!” Then he spun me so that I fell back onto my seat. “I know a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot!”

“Okay, Mad Hatter. Is it time for tea yet?”

“Its always tea time!” The trickster threw his hands up in the air. “Fetch us some tea, Katila.”

“I am not your servant.”

The humor vanished from the tricksters face as he turned to look at Katila. A chill went down my spine. Had I thought Katila was powerful? This guy was the bigger baddie. It suddenly oozed off him. Then I caught a glint at his throat. Something glowed there. A crystal. It looked familiar. Everything about this guy was familiar and yet, I had no idea who he was.

“Fine,” Katila muttered and trudged off.

“I know you,” I whispered.

The trickster spun my way, pasting on a grin as he did. “You do?!” He clapped his hands. “Who am I?”

“I dont know,” I huffed. “But youre familiar. You keep doing familiar things.”

“Maybe its because I know you so well,”—he tapped my nose—“that it seems as if you know me.”

“You seem like a nice person,” I said. “So, Im going to ask you nicely. Please, stop doing this.”

The trickster sighed and resumed his seat. “Its hard to focus on the result in the middle of change. I understand. But trust me, you will thank me when its over. No more of those human groups bothering you and your family. Youll be strong but not a threat. And the humans will advance as they are meant to. I have it on good authority.”

“On good authority,” I murmured. In my head, I heard Alaric and Faerie telling me there was another force in my life. “Who? Did someone tell you to mess with me?”

The trickster grinned. “Have faith, Godhunter.”

“Faith. In what?”

“In who.”

“Who?”

“Exactly.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yup, your name is now Hatter.”

The trickster laughed delightedly. “That is high praise coming from you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you love Alice in Wonderland. Its your favorite story. So, its an honor to be called the Mad Hatter by you.”

I went still. That was not something I talked about a lot. My husbands knew I liked the book, but they were it. There was no way for this man to know about it.

“How do you know that?” I asked.

Hatters head jerked toward the door Katila left through. “Im afraid our time is up, Vervain.” He looked back at me. “You are so very . . . Vervain. Very Vervain. You lived up to all my expectations. Thank you for that. And do try to remember as we proceed, that I have the best intentions toward you, Very Vervain. Dont worry about Katila. Ill take care of him.” He unlocked my manacles, then helped me up. “I believe you know the way out.”

I gaped at Hatter as he waved me toward the front door.

Then he winked at me.

You dont have to wink at me twice. I ran.

“Oh, dear, the Godhunter has escaped,” Hatter declared.

A crash came.

“What the fuck?!” Katila shouted.

But I had already reached the tracing point.