Chapter Ten

I flew us to Quetzalcoatl's home—a fortress set atop a mountain peak that was virtually unreachable by foot.

“Damn,” I said after I deposited the men on the ledge in front of the towering stone building. “If you don't get your magic back, you'll have to do some renovating.”

Que's expression went horrified. “I might not get it back?”

I winced. “Well, Luke got his pitchfork back and Aaron's rod was returned to Jesus. But the trickster still has Jerry's tablets and Odin's magic condenser. I don't know if we'll get those back. So I can't be certain we'll retrieve your wind jewel.”

“Oh, fuck me,” Que whispered.

“We will do everything we can to retrieve the Wind Jewel,” Blue said. “But for now, why don't you stay with me?”

“What about Eztli?”

Blue grimaced.

“Why don't you stay with us?” I offered. “We have lots of room at Pride Palace, and Blue can visit without Eztli.”

Que nodded. “Thank you, Vervain. I think that would be best.”

Blue scowled at me.

“I'm sorry, Blue, but do you really want to make your wife and your friend uncomfortable? ”

His scowl deepened, and he muttered, “No.”

Que chuckled. “I've never seen the great Huitzilopochtli pout.”

“I am not pouting.” Blue stormed off toward the main door.

“He's totally pouting,” I said to Que as we followed Blue.

Que snickered. Then he slipped ahead of Blue. “You won't be able to open the door. Allow me.”

Que set his palm on the handle-less door and the huge panel swung inward. Blue and I followed him into a bright white interior—the ceiling and walls both coated in plaster and the floor covered in white tiles. It would have been stark if not for the eye-popping amount of artwork on the walls. White had been chosen as a neutral backdrop, that's all.

I had to pause often to inspect the paintings as well as the sculptures set on random pedestals (also white). There were pieces from every great master in history there. Que didn't seem to have a preference for style. He simply liked art.

“Oh, my goodness,” I whispered and stopped altogether.

Blue and Que, who had kept going as I gawked. had gotten several feet ahead of me. They looked back. I saw them speak, and then they stepped over to me to see what I was looking at. Blue flinched. The painting was of him. A close-up, no less. It depicted him as he used to be—his eyes the color of blood. He was still beautiful but in a more menacing way.

“What the fuck?” Blue whispered.

“It's a depiction of you after the battle with your brothers,” I said. “The day your eyes changed.” I tore my stare away from the painting to look at Blue.

Blue scowled and glanced at me. Then did a double-take. “ How do you know that?”

I cleared my throat. “Because I painted it. It was after we . . . after I saw your memories.”

“What?” He gaped at me and then spun to stare at Que. “How do you have this?”

“I bought it,” Que said brightly. “After you introduced me to Vervain, I looked into her. I discovered that she used to make her living as an artist. So, I researched her work. You know how much I love art.”

“You researched her work and found this?” Blue waved at the painting.

“Yes, exactly. It seemed like the perfect piece for me to purchase.” He stepped closer and stared at it. “It's beautiful and terrible. But it also reminds me that no matter how dark it gets, even for the Sun God, there is always hope.” He looked back at Blue. “You triumphed, Huitzilopochtli. You avenged your family and paid a terrible price, but then you got through it. You got back to yourself. And now, look at you. You are great again. You have reunited with your soul mate. You have a family and friends.” Que said the last with a little sadness.

“And you are part of my family.” Blue pulled Que into a hug. “Leave it to you to see hope in a blood-soaked painting.”

I wandered away to look at other paintings and sniff around for clues, but also to give them a moment of privacy. They needed to spend some time together, but we couldn't spare much now. I'd give them as much as I could by combining it with some investigation.

I took a deep breath and with my intention to track, color bloomed to life around me. But only one shade—a bright teal. Que's scent. It was the only scent in the place. I wandered further down the hallway and peeked into rooms. The second room I found was full of Aztec art, a lot of it disturbing.

“Vervain?” Que laid a hand on my shoulder.

I squeaked and jumped, dropping my tracking sight. Or smell, rather. Sight-smell.

With a grin, he said, “Sorry. Did you want to see where I kept the Wind Jewel?”

“Oh. Yes, please.”

“This way.” Que led us around a corner, up an incline, down another hallway, up some stairs, along another hallway, then up a final set of spiraling stairs.

“Here we are,” Que said as we stepped into a circular room with a balcony attached.

“Are you sure we don't have to climb more stairs?” Blue drawled.

I giggled. “It was a ways. You should think about installing an elevator.”

“I usually just fly up to the balcony but an elevator is a good idea.” He went to the stairwell and set his palms on the archway.

A shimmer of magic enveloped the space beyond Que. When it cleared, there was an elevator door within the arch.

Que dusted off his hands and turned back to us with a grin. “Well, at least I still have my territory magic.”

“Actually, that is good to know,” I said. “Now, where did you keep the breastplate?”

Que went to what was basically a padded pit in the center of the floor. Pillows rimmed it and blankets were folded neatly in the center. It looked like a nice place to lounge, especially with the balcony doors open to give a view of sharp, green mountain peaks. There was no railing around the balcony, so maybe it was better classified as a ledge. But then a railing would get in the way of Que landing.

Around the walls stood dressers, a side table, and a desk made to fit the curve. The walls here were stone and painted pale blue—a shade that perfectly matched the sky so that the room seemed to be a part of the view even though it was mostly closed off. The ceiling was peaked, crossed by beams, and painted that same blue. The floor, however, was natural rock, the drab color concealed by several silk rugs and the pillows in the pit. I expected Que to go to one of the dressers, or maybe even a secret panel in the wall, but he climbed down into the pit and pulled a few pillows away from the side.

“This is where I sleep,” he said. “I only take the Wind Jewel off when I go to bed. I remove it and put it in this drawer.” He pressed a button and a narrow drawer slid out. It was empty but lined in blue velvet, and the velvet bore the impression of the Wind Jewel.

I went down to inspect the drawer. I wasn't expecting to find a scent, but I was hoping to find another clue. I poked at the edges of the drawer, testing the velvet to see if I could pry it up. It didn't budge.

“Can you remove the drawer?” I asked Que.

He pulled the drawer out completely, and I peered into the cranny. I felt around in it. Peered inside again.

“Nothing?” Blue asked.

“This isn't like him.” I looked around. “Search the room. Maybe he left a clue somewhere else.”

Que slipped the drawer back into its spot, and as I climbed out of his bed, he put the pillows back.

“What was that?” I stopped halfway out .

“What?” Que asked.

“I heard a crinkle.” I waved him back.

As Que moved back, I pulled the pillows away again. There was nothing on the mattress or between it and the wall.

“Dang it,” I muttered and replaced the pillows.

There was that crinkle again.

I jerked a pillow back and felt the fabric. No, not fabric, suede. And suede shouldn't make that sound. “There's something here!” I tugged at the suede and it tore away from the pillow, the sound of Velcro parting making me wince.

“What is that? A false back?” Quetzalcoatl asked in shock. “When would the trickster have time to sew that onto my pillow?”

“While you were sleeping,” I said. “And it wasn't sewn. These are peel-and-stick strips. He probably had the piece prepared.”

“He came prepared with a piece of fabric to match my pillow?” Que's expression went shocked, and a little impressed.

“Aha!” I pulled a small piece of paper out of the pocket the false back made. “Here's our clue.”

Que took the pillow from me and yanked the back away. “There's fur on this side. Beaver fur, if I'm not mistaken.”

“Beaver.” I paused in unfolding the paper and looked at Blue.

“So, that mistake was on purpose,” Blue said.

“I never thought it was a mistake,” I said. “The trickster is trying to tell us something.”

“Something that involves beavers?” Que asked with a confused scowl.

“Yes, and coyotes.” I unfolded the message and read, “Beavers have thick fur, but thin skin. Find the vengeful beaver, and you will find me.” I grimaced. “I'm so glad that Pan and Re aren't here.”

“Why?” Que asked.

“They can be a little immature about things that can be taken sexually,” I said.

“What about that is sexual?”

Blue cleared his throat.

“What?” Que asked.

I pressed my lips together, then shrugged. We were all grown-ups. “The word beaver has been used as a slang for, uh, lady bits.”

Okay, so maybe I wasn't that grown up.

Que frowned. “Lady bits? A beaver? Really? Why?”

“I believe it had something to do with the fur,” Blue said, then shook his head. “Let's not have this conversation.”

“Do you think the trickster meant it to sound sexual?” Que asked.

“No,” Blue and I said together.

“Then I agree that we should move on. It holds no bearing here.”

“Yes, you're right.” I got out of Que's bed, because that was just making me feel even more awkward, and handed the note to Blue. “Any thoughts?”

“Not immediately,” Blue admitted. “Not on the clue, at least. I do think we should return to the others and get their input on this.”

“Oh, great,” I huffed. “Prepare yourself for beaver jokes.”

“I will remind them of the gravity of the situation,” Blue tucked the paper into his suit jacket. “Let's go. I don't think we'll find anything more here.”

“Hold on,” Quetzalcoatl said. “This god got into my territory, then my home, and—while I was sleeping—he found a hidden drawer that no one knows about, stole the Wind Jewel, and stuck a false back on one of my pillows to conceal a clue? Who is this person?!”

“That is the question we all want answered,” I said.