Chapter Twenty-Five

It was too late to text Torrent, so I had to wait until morning. Since I knew sleep would be difficult, I went with Re to Duat to search for any sign of the trickster. I knew there wouldn't be any, but I had to try. What if the one time I didn't look, he messed up? Plus, he usually left us a clue. This was a game, after all. We had to play if we wanted to get to the end.

Despite the likelihood that we'd find a clue, the others went to bed while Re and I went to search his palace. They were just too tired. Worry can take a lot out of you.

The gleaming rooms of the Sun God's palace were full of Egyptian artifacts that the trickster hadn't touched. He had only taken the scepter. And he took it from a hiding spot that even I didn't know about. It was, of course, in the safest place Re could think of—a secret compartment inside his bed. Yup, his round, erotic playground of a bed not only had naughty metal loops to tie lovers to, but it also had a hidden drawer that the scepter resided in along with the ankh. The ankh was still there, but only the imprint of the scepter remained in the velvet lining of the drawer.

“Let me guess,” Re drawled. “There's no trace of him?”

“No, but there must be a clue. He always leaves a clue,” I said.

“I told you, La-la. I looked. I didn't . . .” Re trailed off as I pulled the entire drawer out of the bed's base. “Oh, I didn't think to do that. ”

I handed him the drawer, then reached inside the crevice to feel around. There was nothing in there. I crouched and peered inside. Nope, nothing. I should have known he wouldn't repeat a clue hiding spot.

“Damn it!” I growled.

Re replaced the drawer, clicking it into place. It melded seamlessly with the engravings around the gold frame. I stared at those engravings. Then I sat back.

“Can you lift the bed, please?” I asked Re.

“Raise it? Sure.” He went to the lever that controlled the bed. “Hop on.”

“No, I want to see beneath it.”

“Oh! Uh. I'll have to go up with it so I can bring the bed back down.”

“Do you mind?” I grinned at him.

“Oh, all right.” Re got on the bed and pulled the lever.

I watched the bed spin upward on a giant screw while the roof opened to let it through. It felt very Sci-Fi, especially with the way the ceiling panels parted. Re laid back, never missing an opportunity to enjoy himself, and was quickly hidden from my view by the bed's base.

Long before the bed filled the opening in the roof perfectly, I found the clue. It fell on a golden cord to dangle before me. Just a note. No, a postcard. I snatched the cord and yanked it off the bed.

“Found it!” I called up to Re.

“I'll be right down!” he shouted back.

Even before it reached the top, the bed stopped, then spun in the opposite direction, coming back down to the floor while the roof slid back into place.

“What does it say?” Re asked anxiously, peering over the side of the platform like a little kid.

“It doesn't say anything.” I scowled at it. “It's just a postcard from Hawaii with a picture of a surfer on it. I mean, it says 'Hang Loose' over the picture, but there's no writing on the back.”

“Then the postcard is the clue,” Re said as he hopped off the bed, jumping the final few feet. “Lemme see!” He took the postcard from me and inspected it. “Maybe he left another clue at your house in Hawaii.”

“Maybe.” I frowned. “Hang loose. Hang loose.” I blinked and said it once more, “Hang loose!”

“What? What does it mean?”

“Do you know who talks like that?”

“Um, surfers?” He waved the card at me.

“The clues always lead us to the next victim, Re. If he's truly going after elemental items, it will be water next.”

“Yes, which is why we warned Tobadzistsini. And, also, he doesn't always lead us to his next target. Have you forgotten that his last clue sent us after the beaver?”

“Oh. Right.” I blinked. Then recovered. “Okay, fine. But Toby's not the only god with Water Magic.”

“No, there are tons of them, I'm sure. But he's the one we know.”

“We know another god with Water Magic, and he happens to surf. He even talks like that!” I tapped the postcard.

Re blinked. Then he frowned. Then his frown cleared as his perfect brows lifted. “Donnie! ”

“Yup. Poseidon. The trickster's going after Poseidon next. He has the most famous god weapon in existence, and it controls water.”

“His trident,” Re said. “Shit. We have to warn him. Do we even have his number?”

“Oh, yeah. He's a fellow Olympian. He gave me his number a while back.” I pulled out my phone and texted Donnie in a way he'd understand.

A gnar god with mad skills is after your trident. He knows a shit ton of things he shouldn't and has the power to go unseen. Dude can literally walk into your shack and right past you without you spotting him. Guard your trident and get somewhere safe. Now!

I hit send and sighed. “Hopefully, that will reach him in time. The trickster is already too powerful.”

“Especially now that he has my scepter.” Re gaped at me, then asked, “You don't think he'd try to take the pantheon, do you?”

Before I could answer, my phone dinged.

I looked down at Donnie's response and grimaced.

“We're too late,” Re concluded.