Chapter 15

15

E lektra studied Eiline by the fire and tried to feel out the curse that was affecting her mind. It was like tentacles moving through her head, shutting down and protecting some parts but not others. It was an intentional madness.

Vanth came out of the bathroom, looking slightly more relaxed than when he went in. Elektra couldn't imagine how hard it must be for him. She knew where she came from and who her family was. To go from thinking that he had no one to have his whole world shaken… Elektra hated putting him through it.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"As good as I can be." Vanth sat down on the warm stones next to the fire. His long black hair was a ruffled mess he was methodically attacking with a comb. "Any changes with Mom?"

Elektra's hand itched to touch his hair. She clenched her fist tight. "Not that I can tell. I have been trying to study the nature of the curse. It's protecting parts of her brain, and I think it's those parts that we need."

"Fuck," Vanth muttered, attacking a knot. "I had a theory once that she had put the curse on herself, but I could never find a reason why she would. Do you think this has something to do with Orcus?"

Elektra reached over and took the comb from him. "Let me. You're going to hurt yourself in this mood and make the knots worse."

Vanth passed her the comb and turned his back to her. "I can't understand why she never told me about him."

The hurt in his voice was like a stab in Elektra's heart. At the temple, everyone tended to hide their emotions and get on with the job. There were partners and friends, but Elektra had never been a part of any close cliques. Vanth had become her friend in the blink of an eye, and suddenly, she cared too much.

"If I had to guess, I think your mother put the curse on herself to ensure that if Lazarus ever found her again, he wouldn't be able to get the information about the Veil from her. Your mother had worked with Orcus to fix the breach the first time around. Because it was broken once in that place, it's possible that Lazarus wants to use that weakness to open again. I don't know much more than that. The high priestess, Maria, who told me that much, died before she could tell me the rest," Elektra explained softly.

She worked through the first section of his dark hair and went on to the next. There was a strange intimacy in combing his hair, but it also seemed to relax him, so she didn't stop. It satisfied the strange need to touch him at the same time.

"We need to find a way to deal with her curse. Otherwise, we might never know what the fuck is happening," Vanth replied.

"I might be able to help with that," Flynt said, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He must have had another bathroom in the forge because he was clean and in fresh clothes. He pulled out a necklace from his pocket. It had a pendant hanging from it that looked like iron but with a magical signature that hit Elektra like a sharp slap. Forgotten magic in her blood sang at the sight of it.

"It's made of star steel. Meteorite," she said, correcting herself.

Flynt nodded. "It has stronger effects than normal iron. This pendant has other healing properties too, so I'm hoping it will help put a temporary block on whatever is going on in her brain," he grumbled. He placed the necklace over Eiline's head. "Now we wait for it to work."

Flynt poured himself some tea and sat down at the table. He studied Vanth. "You look like my side at least. What the fuck happened to your ear?"

"The first time I created a ghoul, it swiped out my earrings. Taught me a lesson about having anything in my face during a fight," Vanth said.

Flynt looked at Elektra. "What's your story? You really a reaper, or are you only here to brush his hair?"

"He saved me from a selkie. It's the least I can do," Elektra said, the fae protectiveness rearing its ugly head.

Flynt grinned at her. "Ah, huh. If you say so. Okay, kids, fill me in on what you can."

Elektra tried not to think about what was behind his smug grin and told him about the Veil, the recent attack on the temple, finding Vanth, and coming to Faerie. Vanth remained quiet for the whole time.

"Eiline never could date anyone normal," Flynt said once Elektra was finished. "I had wondered why it had been so long since she had come to see me, and now I know why."

"Surprise," Vanth replied.

"How long have you been taking care of her because of the curse?"

"About twenty years."

Flynt's dark eyes softened. "You poor kid. I'm sorry you had to do it alone. Did you kill the person who cursed her?"

"If I knew who it was, I would have. We think she did it to herself," Vanth replied, his shoulders tensing.

Flynt huffed out a laugh. "Sounds about right."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Eiline said. She rubbed at her eyes. "How long was I out?"

"Not long."

Flynt crossed his arms. "You better start talking, my girl. What did I always tell you about gods?"

"Never make deals with them and never have sex with them," Eiline sighed. She glanced across at Vanth and then back at her father. "One out of two isn't bad."

Elektra laughed before quickly trying to swallow it. Vanth looked over his shoulder at her which made her laugh break free. "It's still not as bad as my family arguments. I can imagine Orcus was quite something."

Eiline smiled, her face softening. "He was."

"You were a devotee of his?" Elektra guessed.

Flynt grumbled. "Couldn't have picked a nice Celtic god to worship. Oh, no. That would have been too logical."

"None of them would talk to me because of you." Eiline rolled her eyes. It was clearly a long-standing disagreement. "I was a devotee of Vanth. She is Etruscan like Orcus is."

"So how did you meet him?" Vanth asked, his shoulders bunching up again. Elektra placed her hand on his shoulder, and they eased down from about his ears. She removed her hand, unsure of why she had just done it. Fuck, what was going on with her? She didn't have a chance to think about it because Eiline started talking again.

"I met Orcus the way you usually meet a god," she answered, a soft smile back on her face. "I did a ritual, and he answered."