Chapter Twenty

You'd think by now I would have learned my lesson. How many times did I have to get my ass handed to me to remember not to engage a god in their territory? No matter how strong a god is, when they enter another god's territory, they're at a disadvantage. Because the god connected to the land has power over it.

We had barely traced into the beaver's territory when the swamp attacked us. Sucked under by rancid sludge, I was worse off than I'd been when I tumbled down the river.

“Vervain!” Re shouted as sunlight burst around me, instantly hardening the mud.

Fire! Of course! I burst from the clay, then helped Re free the others. But by the time we had turned the swamp into dry land, the beaver was already changing the landscape. It became a lake, with his cabin in the center of it. And guess who was coming to drown us?

I finally realized the mistake we'd made. “Retreat!” I shouted.

Everyone swam for the tracing chamber.

A shriek came from behind me. I turned just in time to see one of Hermes's kids go under. I paused. I couldn't leave him behind, but I wasn't good underwater.

“I've got him,” Mrs. E, AKA Estsanatlehi, Goddess of Change, also had Water Magic. She dove and, seconds later, came up with Hermes's son.

Don't ask me which one. I still hadn't learned who was who.

The water began to churn. But we were already at the tracing chamber. Gods were rushing through, pushed along by the movement of the water. I swam into the structure and reached for the Aether, my mind focused on Moonshine. A few moments later, I was striding down a concrete corridor, leaving a wet trail behind me. I kept going, knowing the others would be coming through, but once I was at the top of the stairs and out on the VIP floor, I stood to the side of the door and made sure that everyone had made it back.

I say back because Hermes hadn't been with us in my bedroom earlier. I'd made it clear that I didn't trust him enough to let him into Pride Palace. So, he and his kids—those other than Pan—had waited at Moonshine for us. We had traced there to pick them up on the way to the Beave's territory.

Yeah, maybe I shouldn't name the murderous shapeshifter after that wholesome TV character. Oh, screw it. It was too funny not to. And I needed some levity.

“That's it?” Hermes growled as he trudged across the fake grass, watering it with his dripping clothes. “We get attacked and just run away?”

“Did you want to stay and drown?” I asked.

“We shouldn't have attacked him in his territory,” Odin said. “We know better.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” I muttered.

“Fine,” Hermes growled. “So, now what?”

“We're going to have to wait for him to leave,” I said.

“I left a vein of Internet near the entrance to his territory. I can use it to monitor his movements,” Torrent said. “I'll know when he leaves.”

“Well done, Torr,” I said. “Quick thinking.”

“Thanks.”

“More waiting,” Hermes groaned.

“This is how it goes, Dad,” Pan said. “We're dealing with another god. It's not like hunting a human.”

Hermes sighed and sat down on a hill/couch. His clothes squelched. “Ugh!” He slapped his hands on his wet pants. “I hate this.”

“You hate this?” I asked and started for him. “ You ? You lost a fucking stick. I may lose my husband!”

“Hey, starlight.” Viper grabbed me and swung me around. “How about we see if there's some Duat wine behind the bar?” He took my hand and led me to the stairs.

“What I say?” Hermes asked.

“Dad, just shut the fuck up,” Pan huffed.

“Don't talk to me like that!”

“Shut the fuck up!” Trevor growled at Pan. “Do it, or I will punch you in the mouth until you spit out blood and teeth. Are we clear?”

“Sheesh, you don't have to get violent,” Hermes grumbled.

I chuckled and went down the metal stairs to the main floor of Moonshine. It was night in Hawaii and the place was packed with humans, gods, and faeries. We rarely had faeries in Moonshine before Azrael became the Faerie God. But he changed everything. Now, there were faeries all over the world, and they loved to dance as much as humans. With humans, if possible. Not so much with gods, but the gods and faeries tolerated each other and shared the humans. Especially at Moonshine, where they had to take oaths of non-violence before they were let in. And if they broke their oath, there were a bunch of werewolves on duty to show them the door.

I wove around the mix of fake and living plants with Viper. Trees seemed to grow out of the floor, with a “meadow” clearing in the center of the room made for dancing. We went to the side of the dance floor, keeping to the trees. Little lanterns hung from the trees and figures of faeries and dragons clung to the branches. But the light wasn't enough to penetrate the shadows near the walls, and I overheard several couples enjoying the privacy it created.

I didn't care. Let them have their fun. God knows I'd done it myself a few times. Several gods knew, actually. Since they were the ones I'd made out with. Viper was one of them.

His thoughts proved to be running alongside mine. “Hey, you wanna blow off some steam? I see an empty nook.”

I considered it. Really considered it. “No. I'm sorry, babe. I'm too worried about Az.”

“Yeah, me too. We need to figure out what's—”

A rumbling interrupted Viper. The whole building shook. People shouted and screamed. I fell against my husband. Viper steadied me, but his stare was wide and circling the room. Bottles broke. Suddenly, the overhead lights came on. I blinked against the brightness, then gaped at the center of the room.

People were running for the doors. They knocked into me a few times, but I didn't budge. I was rooted to the spot, staring at a giant oak that was growing out of the floor. The real plants in the room joined it in its magical growth, turning Moonshine into more of a forest than it had been before. Metal creaked as the tree hit the roof. The Moon, which was an Atlantean security system, came loose and crashed through the thick branches, eventually hitting the floor. Amazingly, it survived to roll away, into the shadows.

“Vervain!” Trevor was next to me, shaking my arm. “We need to get out of here!” He looked past me and shouted, “Out! Everyone out!”

“We can't leave Moonshine unattended,” Ty shouted back.

“Fuck the bar!” Trevor snarled. “Get everyone to safety! Go! Now, Ty! Now!” He waved an arm above him. “Everyone out!”

Then Trevor picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. Instead of running for the front door with everyone else, he dashed across the herd and up the stairs to the VIP floor. As he ran, I continued to gape, my stare now on Moonshine's floor. More plants were bursting through the ground, most of them looking too exotic, even for Hawaii.

“It's Wild Magic,” I whispered. Then I shouted, “It's Wild Magic! Run!”

I started smacking Trevor's back to get him to put me down, but he didn't oblige until we were upstairs. Then he set me on my feet and we ran to the Family Door together. The others were already rushing through it, heading down to the tracing wall.

Trevor and I made it into the corridor. As we banged down the metal stairs, the building shook again and the walls cracked. More greenery sprouted through those cracks.

“Holy shit!” Pan shrieked.

“Don't let it touch you!” I shouted. “We don't know what it will do.”

Gods dodged foliage and dashed for the safety of the Aether, disappearing one after another. Finally, I got to the wall and slapped my hand on the cement just as it began to crack. I was sucked into the Aether right as I turned to look back at my husbands with wide eyes. Too late. I was gone.

I reappeared in the tracing chamber of Pride Palace and instantly moved aside, but I didn't leave the room. My heart raced for a few seconds, but then Trevor and Viper came through. I hugged them both, so relieved that I nearly wept.

“We're okay,” Viper said. “Nothing came through the cracks. Not before I touched the wall, at least.”

We left the tracing room to find the Squad waiting for us in the entry hall. Hermes and his other kids weren't there. Thank all that's holy. It was bad enough that I had to deal with Horus.

“What the actual fuck was that?” Pan demanded.

“Are you truly that dumb?” Horus drawled. “It was Wild Magic. Vervain shouted it. You've touched it before. It forced you to procreate. I'd think you'd know it when you saw it.”

“Are you seriously trying to make a joke right now?” Pan gaped at Horus. “Wild Magic is back! This is a fucking catastrophe.”

“I'm not joking.” Horus laid a conciliatory hand on Pan's shoulder, then, in a sad tone, added, “I really do think you're dumb.”

I rolled my eyes and went to sit on the steps.

“It's Azrael, isn't it?” Teharon asked as he came over to me with Karni Mata. They were holding hands.

“Yeah. It has to be,” I said. “But I don't know why. The Elemental Well keeps the Wild Magic in balance. It shouldn't escape Lexington like that, even with Az out of commission.” Then I remembered the rest of my family. And my human friends. I pulled out my phone and sent a mass text to my friends, warning them of possible Wild Magic manifestations, then called my mother. “Mom!” I nearly shouted when she picked up. “Mom, is everything okay over there?”

“Yes, we're fine. The rain hasn't returned and there have been no beaver sightings. We're good, Vervain. Don't worry about us.”

“I'm not worried about beavers or rain. Wild Magic just manifested in Moonshine.”

“What?” she whispered. “Oh, no. I'd better get the cats and lay another ward. Can you come and get us?”

“Of course,” I said. “How long do you need?”

“Uh. Maybe fifteen minutes. We have to catch them again. But at least it's not raining, so they should come to us.”

“Good. I'll see you in fifteen.” I stood up. “Trevor! I need to get my family.”

“Yup,” was all he said.

“What's going on?” Samantha was at the front door, peering in around the doorjamb.

“Wild Magic is returning,” I said.

“Oh, fuck,” she whispered, then looked over her shoulder. “I'll keep the kids out here. Do what you gotta do.”

“Thanks, Sam.”

“Tima?” Lucien stood behind me on the stairs. “We've got people down there.”

By people, he meant girlfriends. Maybe boyfriends. I didn't ask. My lions were allowed to live their lives fully; however they wished and with whoever they wished. They didn't even have to live at Pride Palace if they didn't want to. And they were free to take jobs and lovers on Earth. As far as I was concerned, we were a family. We came together when needed and looked out for each other. It had taken me a while to accept that I could never truly free them. I allowed them to be free, but they were still my lions. Without me, they'd go wild, and without their bond to me, they'd die. But I gave them as much leeway as possible.

“All right,” I said. “Go. If the Wild Magic appears, run. Get them to safety. If you can't do that down there, you may bring them here.”

“Thank you, Tima,” Lucien said, then nodded up at the other Intare who were gathering on the stairs. “Let's go!”

A stream of werelions ran past me to the tracing room. Some of them came in from outside and some from the dining hall. Most of my pride left. I stared after them hollowly. I didn't feel abandoned or alone. I wasn't either of those things. I was just processing. Still in shock. Another round of Wild Magic? Humans would band against us. They'd think the Faerie God had lost his mind. Again. We were fucked.

“V!” Torrent said and shook my shoulder. “Vervain!”

“What?” I blinked, wondering how long he'd been shaking me.

“It's not the Wild Magic.”

I blinked again.

“What did you say?” Odin asked.

“It's not the Wild Magic. Or, if it is, it's confined to Moonshine.” His stare went distant as he went on. “There are no other reports of Wild Magic rising. Not a single one.”

“What?” I whispered.

“Why would it only happen at Moonshine?” Trevor asked.

“Maybe it is Azrael, but not how we thought,” Odin said.

“Then how? ”

“He could be dreaming about places he knows,” Morpheus, the Greek God of Dreams, said. “Dreams, especially god dreams, have power. And if Azrael isn't in control, the Wild Magic could seep through his dreams and into the reality of what he's dreaming about.”

“Yes, I was thinking something along those lines,” Odin said. “Although I'm not sure he's dreaming exactly. It could be that his magic was permeating his memories. Trying to find a way out.”

“Oh,” Morph said. “Yeah, maybe that.”

“Morph, you're a genius!” I grabbed his face and kissed his cheek.

He gaped at me. “I am?”

“Yes!” I spun and handed Trevor my phone. “Call Mom and tell her to be on guard but to stay put.”

“On it.” He hit some buttons and set the phone to his ear as I grabbed Morpheus and headed for the tracing room.

“Vervain, where are you going?” Quetzalcoatl asked.

“Into Azrael's dreams!”

Morpheus, who'd been staring at me in bafflement, declared, “I am a genius!”

We slapped the tracing wall together, smiling at each other like a couple of kids.